The Last Full Measure of Devotion
by LoremIpsum
Summary: For Ben and Riley a wilderness treasure hunt quickly turns into a struggle for survival. No slash.
1. Expedition

The Last Full Measure of Devotion

Chapter 1: Expedition

Summery: For Ben and Riley a wilderness treasure hunt quickly turns into a struggle for survival. No slash.

A/N: Okay, so this is a story that I've been writing/outlining for a while. I'm starting another escapade!

Big Disclaimer: I cannot take credit for the idea of the title. It was already thought of by someone who authored a lovely Star Trek Original Series fanfic.

It seemed very appropriate though; it comes straight from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address. Since Lincoln is someone Ben so highly esteems, I thought it fit. And then the phrase was mentioned in the second NT movie. So hopefully I won't get an angry email saying that I stole their title, I mean I just put up this huge disclaimer.

Also, I apologize if certain parts of this story are similar to other fanfictions but I'm not trying to rip anyone off because I had these ideas down for a long while before that.

I am not Jon Turteltaub or Jerry Bruckheimer. I do not own these amazing films although I am frighteningly obsessed/passionate about them.

Just a warning, the first chapter is kind of slow!

-

_**"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."**_

_**-Woodrow Wilson**_

-

Riley Poole had never been much of an outdoor person. He had been permanently traumatized by it when at the age of nine a giant toad leapt onto his face.  
Luckily, he had the world of technology and computers. He operated mostly from his basement in high school, which would invariably explain his pale complexion. Every once in a while he would think to himself that maybe if he had spent more time outside, he would be bronzed and shapely and perhaps be able to get more ladies.

Then he would remember that toad and was glad his field of technology did not drag him too far off of civilization. However, after he agreed to go along with Ben, this changed. Being dragged around the world was the last thing he ever dreamed himself doing.

But he didn't _dislike _it. Far from it. He wouldn't trade those experiences for the world. They had turned his life completely upside down, but he loved it. Who else could say they helped unearth two of the greatest national treasures known to man?

Which was the reason when Ben asked if he wanted to come along with his expedition team in search of another treasure Riley jumped all over it.

He pretended to think about it. The truth was he jumped all over the chance for another adventure. It had been five years since the discovery of the City of Gold. He felt like a squirrel that had been cooped up too long and was released with a dose of adrenaline. He _needed _to do this; he didn't want to be left behind.

Ben explained to him the basic premise of this hunt. It was on such short notice so Riley had to digest the information basically on the plane ride over.

They were going to hike through the Rocky Mountains in search of an Aztec cave. Riley was a little incredulous at first.

"There's an Aztec cave in the Rocky Mountains?"

"Well, there turned out there was an Olmec cave inside Mount Rushmore," Ben answered pointedly. "Besides, all we're doing is hiking up into the mountains. I already have a expedition crew assembled."

"Boy, _that _sounds familiar," Riley grumbled.

"Riley, I ran a background check. Some of these people are well respected in the archeological community. And some are my _students _for goodness sakes. It won't be another Ian situation."

Riley sighed and tapped his chin, feigning contemplation. "No crazy capers or illegal escapades?"

Ben held up his hand. "None! I promise."

"Alrighty then," Riley smiled. He and Ben shook hands. "You know Ben, I would have helped anyway. Even if we had to break into Area 51."

"I know," Ben said, grinning back at him.

-

So that's how Riley found himself trekking through the Aldo Lepold wilderness of the New Mexico Rocky Mountains, with a waterproof bag, equipment, essentials, the whole shebang.

"Ben?" he whined at the world famous treasure hunter a few yards ahead of him. "Are we almost there? I think my blisters are forming blisters."

Ben rolled his eyes in visible annoyance. Riley had been motoring his mouth non-stop all day. The other members in their team had given him lots of room as if he was a student driver on the road. Only Ben had a built up durability to his complaining.

Some of the other people had given Ben looks as if to say '_that_ guy is your partner?'

But they never questioned him about it because _he_ was the renowned treasure hunter, and he was leading the expedition.

Except Ben sometimes heard them talk about Riley behind the young man's, and, they thought, his back. Not many details went unnoticed by the treasure hunter and it made Ben a little sad to hear his friend being talked about in a disrespectful manner.

Still, couldn't Riley restrain himself a _little_ in the presence of the other crewmembers?

With this in mind, Ben wasn't feeling particularly hospitable at Riley's whining.

"Riley, I told you we'll reach the rest point in a half hour."

"Yeah that's what you said a half hour ago."

Ben sighed and hitched up his backpack. "Why don't you just admire the view or something?"

"I've been admiring it for five hours," Riley complained, the wonders of the natural world temporarily eluding him.

"My feet are killing me."

Ben frowned, digging his hiking stick into the soft earth.

"Riley, you were so excited to come on this trip. I thought you could handle it."

"I can," Riley said quickly. "You know I wouldn't pass off something like this."

"Then why have you been whining for the last five and a half miles?"

"Because I'm getting tired, my blood sugar is low and whining is the only coping mechanism I have at my disposal at the moment."  
Ben couldn't suppress a chuckle and stopped, sitting down on a rock. "Okay, how about we take a ten minute break. Then we'll go the rest of the way."

"Sounds good," Riley said in a relieved voice. He looked around and saw a conveniently placed log to sit on. He was about to seat himself down when Ben said, "Hold it!"

"What?" Riley said in exasperation, his bottom halfway between the air and the log.

"Poison ivy. Don't want to sit there."

Riley looked down and sure enough there was the three-leafed plant, growing innocently out of the decomposing log.

"Where would I be without you Ben," Riley muttered as he looked around for a suitable resting spot.

"In a world of itchiness," Ben said and pointed to another rock. The younger man finally plopped down and took off his backpack. He rubbed his sore shoulders and looked around in confusion.

"Where's everyone else?"  
Ben raised his eyebrows and looked further up the trail. "They went on ahead. Apparently you scared them off."

Riley shrugged, he was used to that kind of reaction. Taking out his water bottle he took a sip and looked up into the sky, framed by evergreens. It looked like rain.

"So…" Riley began. "Are we going to set up camp soon or what?"

"As soon as we get our destination point. Which I said would be another half-hour."  
"What are we doing there?"

"_Riley_, you weren't paying attention during the briefing were you."

"No need to get snippy. But if you must know, I was worrying too much about dying out here in the middle of the woods."

Ben's eyebrows shot up. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"What's bothering me?"

"We're not going to die out here Riley."

"Says _you_. What about bears and things like that? I don't want a bear to eat me."

"Stop being absurd. Bears are scared of people. They won't bother us."

"Sorry, nature isn't really one of my _fortes_."

Ben sighed and rolled his eyes. For someone who wanted to come along he was certainly making a huge fuss.

"Why don't you like the outdoors?"

"This one time when I was little, a huge toad jumped on my face."

"Good grief, Riley."

"Dr. Gates!" Came a distant voice from the top of the hill. "Come on!"

"That's Nathan. Come on let's go."

With a sigh Riley heaved himself up, his sore legs protesting.

"You don't understand! It was absolutely enormous! It had warts and everything…"

"Okay, I get the picture!" Ben muttered. Riley lapsed into a sulking silence for a few moments but quickly got over it.

"So," he said as he fell into step with Ben, "Do you think it's true that there's treasure in the cave?"  
Ben shrugged but there was a glimmer in his eye. "Maybe, it's possible, but not likely. But after everything we've seen I wouldn't be surprised."

Riley grinned at this prospect, feeling rather heartened.

"Cool. And it's a temple for what exactly?"

"Tlaloc." Ben said a tad impatiently.

"Tie-lawl-what?"

"Tee-la-lock," Ben sounded out.

"Oh, right!" Riley said, suddenly remembering. The expedition had been so sudden, that all the information was still sinking in. Knowing the mythology behind the cave hadn't been a priority for him. Riley would have been content with just know the Aztec god's name, but Ben, in typical Ben fashion, kept on explaining. **  
**

"He was an Aztec water god, probably one of the oldest. The Aztecs feared him because they believed he brought floods and droughts. They drowned people, especially children to appease him."

Riley shuddered at the thought. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, it is." Ben agreed, ending abruptly. He decided not to tell Riley that before someone was sacrificed his or her tears were collected into a bowl. And if they weren't crying, the priest would tear off their fingernails. Ben suddenly felt disturbed. He hadn't really given it much thought until now. What kind of person would do that to a child?

Riley caught his look. "What's up?"  
Ben shrugged and stepped over a rock. "I guess I find the concept more distressing now that a baby's on the way."

"Hey, how's that going?" Riley asked, knowing his friend was already in full proud-parent mode.

Ben grinned. "Oh man, Riley. I can't tell you how great it is. The doctor said the baby is healthy as anything."

Riley smiled back. He was absolutely excited about the prospect of being Uncle Riley. "Hey, you never told me how you found out that Abigail was pregnant. I mean, you don't _have_ to tell me."

Ben shook his head still wearing a goofy grin. "No, it's okay. Basically, I came home one day and she gave me this map…"

"I think you guys are the only couple in the world who tell each other big news by leaving a treasure map lying around."

"Do you want me to tell the story or not?"

"Okay, sorry. Keep going."

"So anyway, she leaves the map. And I follow it all the way into the kitchen. And there is a loaf of bread in the oven."

"A what?" Riley said incredulously. "Wait I get it. 'A bun in the oven.' Um, that's a pretty bad pun. Not to mention kind of creepy."

"Hey, take it up with Abby. She's the one who thought of it."

"Hee hee. Who knew she had such a weird sense of humor," Riley mused to himself. "But wow, Ben. That's great." He smiled. The little talk about a new Gates baby had improved his mood considerably.

But after another half an hour Riley became bored again.

"Hey, Ben?"

"Yes Riley."

"Are we there yet?"

"No Riley."

There were another few moments of silence.

"Ben?"

"Riley."

"Are you sure we won't get mauled by a bear?"

Ben groaned.

-

A/N: There is not an Aztec cave anywhere in the Rocky Mountains. Tlaloc is an actual Aztec god. I did some research on it.

I'll explain the cave more in detail about it in the next chapter. Sorry if this is confusing.

I was originally going to make it take place some nondescript mountains but thought it would be more fun to bring in a real place. And plus I learned some interesting things about the mountains in New Mexico for the story…hee hee. Reviews are insanely appreciated!


	2. Campfire Stories

A/N: Ugh sorry for the gap. My laptop was having issues and I had to take it to a store to get fixed and this week has been kind of crazy. Here's chappie two! Hope it explains things some more. Thank you SO SO SO much to **Anonymous Eli, Tashilover, Time and Fate, BandGeek58407, Miss Fenway, Dillyn Breeze, TheTerrierQueen, Jedi'Pirate Jeah, Samps432, KCS, Solitaire42, Sammy Kinz , Spice of Life and Torilei **for the lovely reviews! I can't tell you how much it encouraged me to see that many review for the first chapter :D HUGS AND COOKIES AND LUFF FOR ALL OF YOU!

Also, I lied last chapter. I guess I thought it was slow because it was a lot of explaining. Well this chapter has even _more _explaining so _this _chapter is a slow chapter X(

Sorrrry :(

-

When the two friends finally reached the resting point, Riley's legs were pretty much reduced to liquid jello. With some effort, he pulled himself the last few meters to the campsite and sat down heavily, taking a moment to catch his breath. Ben followed suit and plunked his book bag on the ground. He was tired not only from the hiking, but spending the majority of the time assuring Riley he wouldn't fall into quicksand or be devoured by man-eating plants.

He put his hiking stick on the ground and looked up to see a Chinese man in his mid thirties walk up to them with a smile. Ben nodded back at him, still breathless. Joshua Chau, one of his students from the American History graduate program in Georgetown University where he sometimes lectured. He was exceptionally bright and held a passion for the subject but he was a quiet individual.

He nodded at Riley and looked almost shyly at Ben.

"Professor…Riley," he greeted. "Nathan was saying we might need to send out a search party…" He paused for a minute. "I think he was joking though."  
"Thank you Josh, but we made it in one piece, despite someone's thoughts to the contrary." Ben answered giving Riley a sidelong glare. Riley grinned sheepishly at him.

"If you haven't already guessed I'm not the outdoorsy type."  
"Where's everyone else," Ben asked, looking around.

"They're up the hill a little bit…"  
"Ugh, my more tendons can't take anymore climbing," Riley sighed.

"Well, you have a good chance for some exercise. Everyone's already setting up," Josh pointed out.

"Can't we just…do that tomorrow and sleep on the ground tonight," Riley complained.

Ben rolled his eyes. "So let me get this straight. You're willing to sleep on the cold hard ground in forty degree night mountain weather because you're too lazy to set up a tent?"  
"Yes," Riley whined. Josh raised his eyebrows looking unsure if he believed him or not.

"Sometimes I wonder about you," Ben said, shaking his head. Josh cleared his throat. "So, uh, Professor-"

"Please, Josh. Call me Ben." Ben grimaced. "'Professor' makes me sound so old. 'Dr. Gates' even sounds better then 'Professor'."  
Riley snickered and bit back some remarks that would surely put Ben back in a sour mood.

"Um, D-Dr. Gates, I think Stephen or someone needed help up there…"  
"Sure, I'll be right up."  
Ben stood and looked back down at Riley was staring miserably at the small hill. "Riley, stay here and start setting up. We might need more room here then at the campsite. And yes, also set up a tent here because someone will have to be monitoring the devices. It won't be for you though," Ben added causing Riley sigh. "Sorry for making you suffer the last few meters up the hill."  
"I'll forgive you eventually," Riley grinned as he unzipped his book bag.

* * *

Ben followed Josh up to the clearing and saw that everyone was indeed preparing for their short stay.

A man sporting longish brown hair and beard approached Ben with a smile.

"How was the rest of the hike up?"  
"Not bad, thanks Nathan," Ben said, looking around. "Wow, we weren't even that far behind you guys and you're already pretty much set up."  
The park ranger checked his watch. "Yeah, well I told them to get a move on, it's almost six already. It's gets dark earlier here now. The last thing you want is to try and set up camp when you can't see a thing."

"Okay, let me go check on everyone else, then we can set up for dinner."  
Ben went to go check on the other three people.A stocky man about Ben's age was unloading his bag of nonperishable canned beans and tacking them into neat columns. Ben cleared his throat, "Hey Stephen, I-" The man jumped in surprise sending the cans sprawling everywhere.

"Great _now _look what you made me do, it took me a whole _hour _to…" Stephen looked up and his face turned red when he realized who he was admonishing.

"Sorry sir…it just took me a long time to stack all of these."

"You seem to be a little overstocked."

"No, I calculated the exact number of provisions we would need for this trip. And I'm hardly ever wrong so…" he smiled smugly.

"Yeah."

"Okay, keep up the good work," Ben smirked.

"I plan to," Stephen said and began to restack the bean cans.

Ben walked away and he felt his stomach rumble.  
Ben looked around and spotted another crewmember was hunched over a notebook, scribbling silently. Heather Pike was the second of Ben's students and also the only female on the expedition. Ben was a little worried she would feel uncomfortable with this fact but she seemed quiet at ease.

"Heather, how is everything over here?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Hi Dr. Gates. I'm just finishing up the last of my research that you gave me for this assignment…"  
Ben laughed a little. "The idea was to finish the paper _after_ the expedition was over."

"Oh no," she said vaguely. "I want to finish it when I have the time. I find writing in present moment is better then trying to recall the memories afterward. Wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, it makes sense I guess," Ben said his brow furrowing. Heather regarded him silently then turned back to her writing. Ben cleared his throat. "Have you seen the Professor around?"

"_A _Professor," Heather corrected, erasing something on the page. "You're one too."

"Yeah, but I hate being called that," Ben muttered.

"He went down…" Heather gesturing indistinctly to the hill Ben had just come up, "To help Riley set up the equipment. Actually Nathan told him to…"

"Oh, okay. Thanks. I'll talk to him later then."

Ben looked around. There were still a few more things to set up before the night fell. And the rain…they might need to hang up a few tarps.

-

Riley sighed and looked up at the sky again. Knowing his own luck the sky would probably open and downpour only on him. Like Eyeore. He shrugged to himself figuring he might as well get the tent set up. He began to sort through it, pulling out some poles to help set up the tent.  
A few minutes later was hopelessly tangled within it and was trying to worm his way out but it was a lost cause.

Riley glanced around for help but saw that everyone had already moved further up the hill. Only the stuffy college Professor that sometimes lectured alongside Ben sat adjusting a radio transmitter that he obviously didn't know how to use.

"Um," he coughed to the older man. "Dr. Higgins? Can you, uh, help me out here?"

Cornelius Higgins looked at the younger man primly over the bridge of his nose. After another few moments of silence Riley cleared his throat again, wriggling around a bit.

"Help?" Riley piped up hopefully. The Professor sighed but came over to the techie to help untangle him.

"All right Mr. Poole. Let's get this over with. I have to finish tuning the radio receiver."

"Oh, I could do that if you want," Riley offered as he untwisted himself from the tent.

Higgins looked at him almost disdainfully. "That's quite alright."

Riley frowned and looked downward while attempting to free his arm. He really didn't like this guy.

"So, Riley Poole, eh? A very…er, _strange _name," Higgins began smugly. He didn't even seem to be trying that hard to untangle Riley. "What is it? Irish?"

"No…?" Riley mumbled, unsure. He finally had almost gotten his hand free but was interrupted by someone calling down to them,

"Guys! Dinner's ready!"

"Oooh! It's hot dogs!" the professor said excitedly. With that walked away, leaving Riley in his ridiculous predicament.

"Um,…D-Dr. Higgins?" Riley called after him. "I'm not, uh….come back?"

The man ignored him, walking back toward the campsite. Riley glared after him, trying to houdini his way out of the tent.

"It's not like 'Cornelius Higgins' is a better name," he muttered angrily to himself as he hopped around. He really liked hotdogs too. Just then it began to rain on him. "You think you're funny, huh," he muttered to the clouds.

-

* * *

Ben sighed and sat down on a blanket holding a paper plate with a hotdog and beans. It had been a long day of hiking and he was close to exhausted. The clouds had not given their little group much reprieve either. It had started to rain, not hard, but annoying enough so that fire was being stubborn with them as they tried to light it.

Ben watched feeling a little dejected as the tiny fire Stephen had started puffed out pathetically.

"Here, let me do it," Nathan said impatiently. He lit another match. This time he managed to shield the spark from the rain enough for it to be a decent crackling campfire.

"There. Wasn't so hard, now was it?" Nathan muttered.

"Woop-de-doo for you," Stephen said in annoyance, picking up his half-eaten hotdog.

Ben sighed and poked at the hotdog with his plastic fork. It felt mushy. But he was starving so it didn't really matter too much. He was half-expecting to hear Riley comment on the mushiness.

Riley! No wonder it was so quiet. He looked up quickly at the assembled crewmembers. All of them were sitting a semi-circle wearing different brightly colored ponchos. They were eating their dinners in ponchos a little sullenly. All of them were there expect the techie.

"I can't eat this," said Heather sighed in annoyance, motioning to her flimsy hotdog.

"Why not?" asked Josh, biting into his own.

"I'm a vegetarian," she explained.

"Just eat the bun," Josh suggested. "Or the beans."

"Yeah…I could. But I was hoping for something with a little more…substance after such a long day."

Everyone went back to a semi-glum silence. Ben grimaced inwardly. _He _was the coordinator of this whole thing, he should have been making sure his crewmembers had the proper nourishment and rest for the next day. Ben wasn't an entertainer but he wished he could think of something to get everyone's spirits up.

He looked at his watch, but couldn't read the time. The clock face was splattered with fat water droplets. He brushed them away and it revealed that it was almost seven. The sun was already going down.

"Has anyone seen Riley?" he asked with a frown. No one verbalized an answer but there were a few shrugs and half-hearted grunts. Ben sighed in frustration and stood up. Did he have to keep the kid on a leash? _Turn my back for one second…_

Cornelius suddenly spoke up. "Last I saw him he was tangled up in a tent," he said with a smirk.

Ben's eyebrows shot up and wondered how Riley had gotten himself into the particular situation. He silently put down the can of beans and walked toward where he had seen Riley unpacking the tent.

When he got there, Riley looked up and grinned at Ben. He was indeed tangled helplessly in the tent. Ben had no idea how he managed to pull that off. He looked like a cocoon with a head. Ben wasn't sure weather he should laugh or be annoyed.

"Hey Ben!" he greeted, looking relieved someone had finally decided to come and rescue him from his quandary. "Check it out. I figured I can dislocate my shoulder and shimmy my arm through this loop, then pop it back in when-"  
"Riley, hold still." Ben sighed and set to work untangling his friend.

Riley closed his mouth and stood still, looking with interest at the surrounding trees.  
After a few minutes Ben had successfully untangled his friend. Riley had to do a lot of ducking and spinning under and through the ropes, which put his limited flexibility to the test.

"Okay. There we go," Ben said when Riley finally stood grinning before him, tent-free.

"Wow, thanks Ben. I thought I was going to spend the night in a cocoon. Maybe tomorrow I would have turned into a beautiful butterfly. You know that Cornelius guy really needs to work on his social skills…"  
Ben had to silently agree with Riley on that one.

"Nice poncho by the way."  
Ben looked down at his bright orange poncho.  
"Don't worry. You'll get one too. You're already wet as it is."

They walked back over to the campsite. Ben looked up at the sky. Sunsets were always more prominent where there were no lights or no buildings. He was suddenly glad for the bright snapping fire that Nathan had successfully started.

Ben handed Riley a yellow poncho who pulled it on, relieved to have some shelter from the misting rain.

"You look like an overgrown duck," Ben observed.

"Thanks. You look like a giant tangerine." Riley responded.

Riley sat down awkwardly next to Ben and looked around at the other campers who were chewing their hotdogs silently. Ben handed his friend a plate with a hotdog on it. Riley sniffed it suspiciously but took a bite out of it.

"It's a little mushy," Riley proclaimed.

"I had I feeling you were going to say that."

"Where were you anyway," Nathan asked.

"Trapped in an evil man-eating tent," Riley said brightly, squirting mustard on the hotdog.

Nathan shook his head and smirked. Riley looked into the fire and chomped on his meal. He looked around. Why was everyone so quiet? It was like a puppy had just died or something.

"Hey guys. We should tell campfire stories."

"What?" asked Josh with a small smile. Nathan, Josh and Heather looked interested. Cornelius rolled his eyes. "You mean like ghost stories and Bigfoot folktales used to scare little campers?"

"Hey, there is sufficient evidence to prove that the Sasquatch-"**  
**

**"**Good idea Riley," Ben interrupted quickly. He didn't need Riley to go into one of his conspiracy tangents

"Oh my gosh," Stephen said and swallowed his hotdog. "All of today I could have sworn there was something following us."

"Following us?" Ben asked with a frown.

"Yeah…it was really weird. I kept thinking it was one of you guys…but I turned around and no one was there. After a while it started to really creep me out."

"Hey, great ghost story Stephen," Riley complimented.

"No, I'm serious. It's not a story."

"I'm sure it was nothing," Cornelius said in exasperation. "This is very childish."

"The woods can play many tricks on a person," Heather said lightly.

"Maybe it was aliens," Riley said.

Everyone turned to him.

"Riley…" Ben sighed.

"No I'm serious. New Mexico is where the whole Roswell Conspiracy went down. I mentioned it in my book-"

"Riley, did you write _The Templar Treasure and Other Myths That Are True_?" asked Nathan, suddenly interested.

"Why, yes! Yes sir I did," said Riley proudly, happy that someone had recognized him as the author. Ben prodded the fire with a stick, ignoring the pang of guilt as he always did when Riley's book was brought up.

"Some good points…but it was all a little too farfetched for my taste," Stephen said. "I mean, the 'President's Secret Book' that supposedly holds the nation's secrets?" he snorted. There were a few chuckles from around the group. Riley and Ben exchanged a look and Riley ducked his head to hide a smile.

"Yeah…crazy crazy stuff. Not true at all," Ben supplied, throwing the stick into the fire.

"Well, I for one thought it was quite fantastic," Josh suddenly piped up. "For a self-published book it was very well written."  
Riley grinned and glanced at Ben. "See Ben? 'Good points'…'Well-written'."

"Hey, I eventually got to reading it…" Ben muttered. _Barely. _ Riley looked like he was about to say something else but he shook his head.

Quite truthfully Ben hadn't read the book in its entirety. The only reason he had made the effort was to get Riley off his back. Every time the book was brought up Riley would get this soft, doughy hurt look in his eyes that would put a kicked puppy to shame…ugh. Ben hated that look. It made him feel horrible. So to appease Riley, or more accurately to try and rid himself of his guilty feelings, he had…skimmed it. Of course his did not alleviate his guilt-ridden conscience but it at least made Riley stop bothering him about it.

_Congratulations Ben, _said an accusatory voice in his head, _you win the 'most inconsiderate best friend ever' award,' _Stupid conscience.

_Ah, don't pay them any attention to them Ben. Riley can deal! And what he doesn't know can't hurt him_ said an eviler voice. Ben resisted the urge to hit his forehead. Good Grief, it was just like in the cartoons with the little angel and devil sitting on the person's shoulders.

He was yanked back to reality when he heard Stephen talking to him.

"Dr. Gates, Riley spoke highly of you in the book. I'm honored to be on this expedition with you and him!"

"Same here!" Josh nodded.

"Agreed," Nathan said along with Heather.

Ben smiled weakly at them while Riley bobbed up and down next to him happily, thanking them.

"I think my favorite part," Nathan said thickly through a mouth full of beans, "Is when you talked about finding the Treasure Room! It sounded absolutely incredible. In fact, it was one of the main things that made me want to go on this treasure hunt!"

"I wonder," Heather said looking at Riley, "If you were going to write another story on the treasure of Cibola."

"Oh, uh, maybe…" Riley said thoughtfully.

"Because I would be interested in knowing everything that happened during that treasure hunt," she continued. "Who was involved, what kind of sacrifices were made."

"Sacrifices?"

"Well, sure. You can't go after something that huge without loosing something in the process." She locked eyes with Riley.

"Right?"

"Yeah…" Riley said feeling a little confused at her sudden intensity. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, it applies to everything. To the Aztecs, sacrificing was a part of life. They sacrificed all over the place," Heather continued. "Even to this god Tlaloc, people were killed."

"But their victims were unwilling," Riley pointed out. "A real kind of sacrifice is when someone willingly gives themselves up for something."

Heather shrugged. "Maybe. You might just have noble ideas running around in your head."

The rest of the group had been listening half-transfixed to the psychological conversation. Then Nathan cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. "It's nine o'clock now, We should finish up." The rain had nearly stopped, but the sky was still shrouded in clouds so the only light now came from the fire.

"That's true," Ben stated. "It was a long day today and it's going to be a long day tomorrow, locating the cave. Everyone should turn in soon."

"Um, Dr. Gates," Josh suddenly spoke up, "Do you think that this temple may contain treasure?" he asked, unconsciously echoing Riley's earlier question.

"Yeah," Nathan put in, before Ben could answer. "What's the full story behind it?"

"Oh for goodness sake," Cornelius sighed. "I'm going to bed now. I already know this."

He grabbed a flashlight and walked over to his tent. No one paid him any mind.

"Well, it's getting late …" Ben began, feeling a little reluctant to tell the story, mostly due to the fact he wanted to go to sleep after a long day of hiking and coordinating.

"I'm interested to know myself…" Heather mused.

"Here here! Tell us a story govena'!" Riley said, feigning a Cockney accent, getting a few chuckles from the other people sitting around the campfire.

"Yeah, Dr. Gates! Do tell, do tell."

"Okay, okay. If you _really _want me to…" Ben said with a grin. Riley smirked and sat back, crossing his arms.

-

"Okay, let's see…"

_As you all know we are in the Southern region of the Rocky Mountains which includes Colorado and New Mexico. In 1849 the California Gold Rush had already died down, and gold seekers wanted to find more. They heard that in this area of the Rockies, for hundreds of years in fact, Native Americans mined and traded turquoise with Mexico. The mountains were rich in other minerals as well…gold and silver, but to the Native Americans they were not as precious as the turquoise. So parties of gold seekers traveled out into the mountains to find their fortune. And after the Califor-  
_

"Okay that's great," interrupted Riley, "But I don't have to see what that has to do with the Cave."

"Riley, be patient and let me finish," sighed Ben.

"Seriously," smirked Stephen.

_Anyway_, Ben continued, _a man named William Greenberry Russell found gold in a place called Little Dry Creek. Word got out and the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, also called the Colorado Gold Rush, was underway. __  
__One gold seeker named Jesse Riana had taken particular interest in the fact that the Native Americans traded turquoise. Wondering where they excavated it from, he traveled one state down to New Mexico, journaling his findings along the way. And according to the journal he made amazing discovery… _

"Ooh, ooh, was it the cave?" Riley asked excitedly.

"Yes," Nathan said as he added more wood to the fire.

"Way to suck the suspense out of a story," the techie complained.

_Yes Riley, it was the cave. According to him it exists along a nondescript river in what today is known as the Aldo Leopold wilderness._

"Which is why we sent up camp near this river."

_Right. The journal was discovered by the New Mexico Historical society. It was fascinating because he copied the symbols found in the cave…Aztec, a temple to the god Tlaloc. He only left one other clue on how to find it. _

"What did it say?"

_Water flows upside down _

_In the air you must drown_

"Wow, did he get his clue-telling abilities from Dr. Suess?"

"Do I have your permission to finish Riley?" said Ben in irritation.

"You may proceed," smirked the younger man.

_So the Historical society connected me to form an expedition and go follow the journal to find the Cave. And here we are. The End. Everyone go to bed._

-

There were three tents in total, three guys to a tent. Ben, Riley and Josh were sharing one while Cornelius, Stephen and Nathan had another. Heather got own tent and she was satisfied to rub in the rest of their faces.

Riley sighed and plumped up his sleeping bag. The temperature had already plummeted. Ben had the electric lantern on and was jotting down some last minute details into his planner. Josh was already zonked out. Riley looked around. The lantern was casting eerie shadows on the tent.

Then something caught his attention. _Hmm_, _that's odd, _Riley thought. He looked closer to the tent wall. The silhouette of leaves created by the light were accompanied by other silhouettes. Little round balls…with legs. A hundred of them. On the outside of the tent.

"Uh, Ben?"

"What Riley," said Ben not looking up.

"What are those things on the outside of the tent?"

Ben glanced up briefly before returning to his writing.

"Daddy long-legs."

"A-Are those spiders?"

"Technically daddy long legs are arachnids but not spiders. But yeah."

Riley's eyes went wide as he stared at the hundreds of daddy long legs resting comfortably on the tent.

"I don't care. They're still creepy."

Ben ignored him pointedly and adjusted his glasses. Riley cleared his throat.

"Ah, Ben…"

"Riley, if they bother you so much just flick them off. Now stop bothering me."

"Right, sorry."

Riley cautiously maneuvered his hand over to one of the black-silhouetted spiders and flicked it through the tent. It disappeared and he heard the tiny _thunk_ of it hitting the ground.

"Aha. Yes, take that."

He spent the next five minutes flicking off every spider from the tent using his video-game honed target abilities.  
After a while Ben became annoyed with the sound of tent-flicking and sighed loudly.

"Are you done yet?"

"I have a couple more! I think I'm setting a new world record or something. 'Fastest spider-flicker…"

"What's that noise," Josh suddenly muttered, temporarily waking up. "Is it raining?"

"No, but apparently it's 'spider-flicking' season," said Ben, rolling his eyes at Riley.

"Okay, I'm going back to bed," mumbled Josh, putting the pillow over his head.

"Good idea. And Riley, you need to go to bed too."

"Just a _few _more flicks?" asked Riley. In answer, Ben switched off the electric lamp, plunging the tent into darkness.

"Augh! Ben!" cried Riley. "Now I can't see where the sleeping bag is!"

"For goodness sake, the tent isn't even that big! Just crawl around until you find it!"

Riley grumbled as he felt around, his hands landing back onto his sleeping bag. "It's bigger than that cubicle I used to work in."  
An exasperated sigh came from the darkness along with the sound of Ben crawling into his own sleeping back. "Goodnight Riley!"

Riley sighed and snuggled down in his thermal sleeping bag away from the cold mountain night air. Now that he was lying down he realized how sore his body was from hiking all day. And he really was tired. _Ah well_, he thought sleepily, _I'll get the rest of those spiders tomorrow._

-

It was a few hours later when Riley woke up again. He cursed inwardly, annoyed at his body for not sleeping through the entire night. He lay there for a few moments until he realized he really had to _go. _

_It's cold out though_, he muttered to himself. _Not to mention all those spiders…_

Move it or loose buster, his bladder told him.

Okay, fine.

He wriggled out of the sleeping bag and immediately shivered when the frigid mountain air hit him. As quietly as he could, he groped around until he found his flashlight and unzipped the tent. After obeying nature's call, Riley quickly washed his hands with the hand soap and dish tub of water, grimacing a little. Going to the bathroom out here in the woods was not an ideal experience.

He began walking back to the tent when he heard something crack off to his left. He froze and listened for a few tense moments. Riley peered suspiciously into the pitch-black woods and felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He had the unmistakable feeling that something was out there. Riley tried to shake off the feeling, telling himself it was it was just because of the dark woods and the creepy night noises.

There was another snap and Riley gasped, swinging his flashlight to where the sound was coming from. There was nothing there. He forced his heart rate to slow down, managing to convince himself it was a creepy crawly night animal. Riley sighed and treaded back over to the tent, trying not to think about how many spiders he was probably stepping on.

-

A/N: I was going to have Ben and Riley get into a fight but decided not to. They're going to have enough problems to deal with as it is.

I did research on the Pike's Peak Gold Rush…all of it is true expect for the part about Jesse Riana if you couldn't figure it out already.

Also, I've been camping ever since I was little so I drew on some real life experiences to put in here! Like the spiders on the tent thing is totally real. (shudders) creeps me out every time.

NOTE: The cave story and the introduction of the other crewmembers are not essential to the plot…they were there for some depth I guess. The treasure hunt is not the main idea of the story. But just to avoid confusion here is a list of the characters.

Joshua Chau- Ben's student, American History Major

Heather Pike- Ben's other student, majored in ancient Latin American culture

Nathan Hoobler- Geologist, Park Ranger

Cornelius Higgins- Professor at Georgetown, Historian

Stephen Hardy- Archeologist

And of course:

Riley Poole: hacker, computer science expert, treasure hunter, conspiracy theorist, during the expedition he is in charge of communications and technological equipment.

Benjamin Gates: Treasure Hunter, cryptologist, historian extraordinaire the founder of the expedition.

Research found from Wikipedia and rockymountainmaps . com

A big thank you to my sister and Jedi Pirate Jaeh for beta reading :D


	3. Gathering Storm

A/N: Thank you to **Samps432, daisyduke80, Time and Fate, Miss Fenway, Thuraya Known, fallen.leaves19, Solitaire42, Dillyn Breeze, KCS, Cheese Grows On Apples, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh **and **Lo **for your terrific reviews a lot of them had me l-o-l-ing.

A special thanks to **Miss Fenway** and **Solitaire42** for pointing out the daddy-long legs are not actually spiders!! I think I learned that somewhere before but totally forgot! I went back to the last chapter to tweak that part because I liked the idea of Ben being a no-it-all :P Sorry daddy long legs! (goes to hug) Uhh, well…maybe I'll just let them accept my apology from a distance!

Stuff happens in the this chapter :D

-

Riley awoke the next morning with sunlight streaming into the tent. He yawned and stretched his stiff muscles before sitting up and looking around. To his surprise he was the first one to have woken up. Ben and Josh were still asleep.

Riley rubbed his eyes and sat up shivering slightly. He rummaged around in his book bag until he found the hoodie he was looking for. It was one Abigail had given to him that said 'Eat. Sleep. Hack.'. Ben had wondered if it was just a _little _too obvious to wear, but Riley had decided to display his skill proudly. Riley pulled the hoodie over his head and already felt much warmer.

He unzipped the tent and walked into the crisp morning. Wondering what time it was he looked down at his watch. Wow, he was _really _early. Not even seven yet. He cracked his back and decided to get something to eat and wait for everyone to get up. But first he might as well check up on the transmitter. Heather was in the tent next to it. He would have to be quiet.

He walked down the small hill until he reached where the radio transmitter was set up, sitting under a blue tarp to protect it from rainfall. Picking it up, he walked a few yards away from Heather's tent as to not wake her up. A few minutes later he had a walkie-talkie out, making sure the radio and the device were on corresponding frequencies. He frowned. That was odd… the radio was set to an unfamiliar frequency.

"Probably, Dr. Higgins…he's didn't know what he was doing with this thing," Riley muttered. He adjusted it back to their channel. "Okay, let's see if this thing works."

He clicked the test button on the walkie-talkie. The mechanical voice began to recite the number. "One-seven-two-three-zero-zero,"

"You sound like Darth Vadar," Riley muttered. "Let's see…we need Search and Rescue…" He clicked the button again.

"SAR one-five-five-one-six-zero."

"Great. Everything's set up. Again."

"Are you talking to yourself?"

Riley looked up to see that Heather had woken up and was looking at him with a weirded out/annoyed expression. Her brown hair looked unkempt and she was staring at him groggily.

"Oh, good morning. Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, you did," Heather sighed. "With that robot-voice."

"Whoops. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, whoops," Heather snorted.

"I said I was sorry," Riley pointed out, now slightly annoyed. _Guess she's not a morning person…_

"Whatever. What are you doing with those anyway?"

"Well, I just needed to readjust them. Make sure the channels were right so we can communicate with each other…and also as an extra bonus I attached a tracking device to the walkie-talkie. That way we'll be able to have the coordinates to the location of whoever is holding it."

"That's smart thinking."

"Thank you," Riley said smugly. "Look, I really am sorry about waking you up. I'll go somewhere else now so you can catch some more z's."

Heather smiled despite herself. "Thanks. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to sleep."

"Yeah. Well…happy sleeping," Riley said awkwardly as she walked back to the tent.

-

When Ben finally woke up and checked his watch he cursed inwardly. He wanted to get an early start but he allowed himself to sleep in. As fast as he could, he threw on his clothes and walked outside the tent.  
He spotted Riley sitting on the ground, shuffling things around in a pack and singing quietly to himself.

"…_See how they run like pigs from a gun,_

_see how they fly_

_I'm crying_

_Sitting on a cornflake…_"

He looked up as Ben walked over. "I always thought The Beatles were high when they wrote that."

"Probably. Wait, how did you get up before me?"

"I don't know! Crazy, right?" Riley grinned at Ben. "I decided to take advantage of this phenomenon and do stuff."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Um…" Riley appeared to be thinking hard. "You know…stuff!"

"Uh huh."

"Well, there was this nice sunrise. And I ate something…and oh yeah! I had to readjust the radio."

"I thought you already did that."

"Well Mr. Corny Higgins must have messed around with it when I was in my little tent predicament yesterday." He shrugged. "It's fine now."

"Okay, good." Ben pulled out a water bottle and took a drink looking at the Rocky Mountain sun now almost entirely in the sky. It was quite beautiful.

"How'd you sleep? Any werewolves try and eat you?" Ben teased.

"I slept fine thanks…but…" he frowned suddenly recalling the creepy feeling he had in the middle of the night. "Now that you mention it…"

"Mention what?"

"Nah. Never mind."

"Whaat?"

Riley continued to frown. "Nothing. You'd just make fun of me."

"Oh, come on. Does it have to do with werewolves?"

"Maybe…all I can say is I went outside the tent last night to, ya know, obey nature's call, when I thought I heard something. Nothing was there, but I couldn't shake off this creepy feeling."

"Well, being in the middle of the woods can make anyone feel weird," Ben said thoughtfully.

"Yeah….I guess it could have just been my nerves."

"After seeing you freak out about those daddy-long legs, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Hey, I handled that very well!"

"Right. Listen, I need you to pack up two book bags. When everyone wakes up I'll explain the agenda for today. "

"Sure thing," Riley said with a salute.

-

Eventually everyone freshened up and assembled in the brisk mountain air to hear what Ben was going to say. Riley was chomping on a Nutri-grain bar and looking around at the rest of the crewmembers. Most of them were still yawning and shaking off the remnants of sleep. Heather looked especially tired. Riley guiltily attributed it to the fact that he had woken her up earlier.

Ben cleared his throat. "Good morning everyone! Everyone sleep okay?"

There were a few "yeahs", "sures" and "mehs".

"Good. Today we get down to business. As I explained, Jesse Riana traveled along a river, journaling his findings along the way. One of the things he wrote about was how at every stop, he left a marker."

"What did he mark?" Josh asked with interest.

"He carved his initials into rocks by the riverside. Today, we're going to search along the riverside for these rocks. If you find one, take a sample of the dirt, record your position and come back to the camp."

"Okay, who gets to go?" Stephen asked.

"Dr. Higgins and Nathan are in one group…" Nathan gave a dismal stare to Ben who looked at him apologetically before continuing. "You're going to be on the north side of the river. Me and Riley will be scoping out the southern area of the river."

"What about the rest of us?" Heather asked, crossing her arms.

"You need to stay here and record transmissions Riley and Nathan will send back if anything is found."

"Basically, the research part of it," Stephen grumped.

"Right." Ben said repressing a sigh. _Seriously did this guy think all treasure hunting was like Indiana Jones? _

"Riley fixed the receiving end of the transmitter so it should be fine. We'll leave in an hour, everyone get your stuff ready. "

-

At eleven 'o' clock the four hikers were packed up and ready to go. Once again, they were in their brightly assorted ponchos. Riley was glad he had spent the extra money on a waterproof bag. It was definitely beginning to rain again.

"Okay, Dr. Gates. Everything is set up and ready," Josh had to talk a little loudly over the sound of the raindrops hitting the trees.

"Great; thanks Josh. We should be back in about five hours…we'll keep you posted." Ben said.

"Good luck guys," Nathan said to everyone before turning on his heel. Dr. Higgins nodded curtly to them before following.

Riley hitched up his book bag and was about to leave when Heather said, "Be careful." He turned back to her. Riley couldn't be sure but she actually looked…anxious.

"Why, are you worried?"

"Well, the rain…" Heather muttered. "Looks kind of…bad."

"It's not raining hard enough to cause a flash flood or anything. We'll be back soon!" Riley said encouragingly. He turned on his heel and started down the slope.

Heather looked after them and bit her lip.

"Uh, Heather? Are you coming?" said a voice near her ear. Heather jumped and turned to see Josh looking at her shyly. She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm coming. You can tell Stephen to start." She turned and looked one last time to where Ben and Riley disappeared. Then she sighed and turned around. The rain began to pour harder.

-

Two pairs of cold blue eyes looked on as Ben and Riley separated from the group. Two men stood in the shadows, waiting. The rain fell around them but they didn't seem to mind.

"How're we gonna do this?"

"It's not too hard. They're already separated. We just need to cut them off."

"But what about the rest of the group?"

"Oh, don't worry 'bout them. That's under control."

A cold smile spread over the taller man's face.

"Soon we'll have what we want. We just need to have the right amount of…persuasion."

The cohort looked dispassionately at the smaller man running over to catch up with Ben.

"What about the Poole kid?"

Icy eyes observed the younger man.

"Harmless. Gates is more problematic."

"Then can't we just kill the shrimp?"

The tall man stroked his beard. "No. We can use him to our advantage."

His cohort chuckled, cracked his knuckles and leaned back on the tree.

"This'll be fun."

It was now just a matter of trailing and waiting for the opportune time.

-

"…So then I was like, 'Hey man, I already have a CBC X-Pro 3200, I just need the user upgrades. What are you trying to do, rip me off here?'"

Ben was only half listening to Riley's chatter as they made their way to the unnamed river in the Aldo Leopold wilderness. The rain had thankfully tapered off again into a drizzle.

"Okay…so we're going to look around here for any possible stones or land formations where the initials could be carved."

"Right. I have my high-tech sample storage device."

"What high –tech sample storage device?" Ben asked in confusion.

"My Ziploc bag." Riley said with a smirk. Ben smiled and looked around. "Alright we're heading down to the river's edge…"

Riley scurried down the rocks looking like a boy going to catch frogs.

"RILEY! Be careful!" Ben called after him. Riley looked back up at him.

"Why?" he shouted.

"The rocks are-"

"WOAH-OOMPH!"

"…Slippery from the rain." Ben sighed.

Riley was wincing and rubbing the back of the head.

Ben balanced himself as he slid down the muddy slope and came to a neat stop beside Riley.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Tarzan, thanks for asking." Riley muttered.

"Here," Ben grinned and extended his hand. Riley took it (getting Ben's hand muddy in the process) and the older man hauled his friend back to his feet. Riley looked down at himself and sighed. His pants and hands were covered in mud.

"Ugh, Ben. I can safely say my name is Mudd."

"First of all that's not a laughing matter. Second of all it was a horrible pun," Ben shuddered.

"Sorry! But I mean, look at me! I'm _covered_!" Riley whined.

"Just wash it off in the river."

"Fine. Time to wash my hands, old-school style," he mumbled and headed the rest of the way down to the river.

He managed to not fall into the water as he washed his hands free of the gunk. There was nothing he could really do about his pants for the moment. A tiny _plop _caught his attention. Riley looked over and saw a little toad staring up at him.

"Ugh! Go away. You're not jumping on my face again!" Riley told it. The toad blinked wetly at him and hopped back into the water before gliding away. Riley watched it disappear when something caught his eye. He bent closer to the rock the toad had been sitting on and rubbed the mud away with his thumb. Then he broke out into a wide grin.

"BEN! BEN, I FOUND SOMETHING!" he shouted.

"I'm right here," Ben said who was standing about four feet away.

"Oh, sorry. But look at this!" Riley said excitedly. Ben knelt down next to Riley to see what he was pointing at. Carved with precession into the rock were the letters J and R.

"Jesse Riana's marker." Ben said in awe. He ran a finger over the indent. "Wow…" Ben murmured. "Would you look at that..."

Riley smiled to himself. Ben did not need a treasure room to feel awed by history. He was a treasure hunter and to treasure hunters every single piece of history down to a shard of pottery was a precious artifact. Riley had once witnessed his friend nearly come to blows with a contractor because an outlet mall was going to be built over a resting point of George Washington and his troops. Ben had made a petition for the people of the town to sign, went to the historical society, and the piece of land was declared a historical landmark.

Ben didn't mess around when it came to things like that. To Ben, pieces of history were worth protecting and preserving and he was a huge activist for such ideals. Riley had teased Ben, saying that if George Washington had so much as breathed in an area Ben would have captured the air molecules and bottled and labeled them. But it was one of the aspects of Ben that made Riley greatly admire him, although he would never tell Ben that. He preferred to just poke fun at him.

"Hello? Earth to Ben, Pike's Peak Gold Rush is over!" Riley snickered and nudged him.

Ben was jerked out of his 1849 contemplation.

"Great work Riley! We need to get back up and contact the others!"

"Sweet!" Riley said, feeling proud he had spotted the clue. Ben started back up the bank of the river. "Are you coming?"  
"Give me a sec to wash off my hands again," Riley said. Then he remembered he needed to take a dirt sample. He put some of the mud into a his Ziploc bag and returned it to his pack.

Then he bent over the river and dipped his hands into the crisp flowing water. The mud washed right off again but his hands were getting cold.

"Riley come on!" Ben called.

"Right, right, I'm coming."

Riley stood up and was about to brush off his pants then thought better of it, not wanting to soil his hands again. Just as he was about to start up the hill a strange prickling sensation made his back shiver. Once again the feeling that he was being watched came over him. He glanced around the riverside but all he saw mallard duck and its mate looking suspiciously at him.

"Wow, you guys are everywhere," Riley muttered and felt relieved. He was worried it was a bear or something. The grating feeling still wouldn't go away so he shoved it in the back of his mind. Hiking had never been his thing to begin with.

He began to climb back up to where Ben was standing.

-

Ben sighed and sat down, waiting for Riley to arrive back up. He wasn't entirely sure how to bring up the coordinates on this walkie-talkie… Suddenly something caught his attention.

His head snapped up and he stared intently through the trees. Straining his ears, he heard something. Someone was definitely walking toward him.

At first Ben thought it was two of the crewmembers. He frowned and stood up, wondering how they got so far away from their assigned scouting area.

But as they approached, Ben felt a growing apprehension. They were definitely not anyone on the expedition crew. The feeling in the pit of his stomach worsened. Something wasn't right. They drew closer and Ben's breath caught in his throat.

He recognized them. It was two people he never thought he would see again. One of them was holding a gun.

-

A/N: Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good. Who are these two guys? Will Riley ever get the mud off his pants? Will the mallard ducks start a family of their own? Stay tuned for the next adventure :D (cue end show music)

This chapter was just kind of a segway chapter. Hope you somewhat liked it. Riley mentioned the 'CBC X-Pro 3200' in a cute deleted scene from the DVD. I just decided to reference it here.


	4. A Bad Situation

A/N: A super special awesome thank you to **KCS, Anonymous Eli, Samps432, daisyduke80, broadwaylover07, Sarahsadork, Miss Fenway, Thuraya Known, ArodieltheElfofRohan, Time and Fate, Jedi' Pirate Jaeh, Spice of Life, Lo, Solitaire42 **for your reviews

The story gets more serious from here…don't worry I'll still add funny Riley moments when possible (:

-

Riley stumbled the rest of the way up the slope, nearly slipping and falling again on the mud before he safely pulled himself up. Muttering under his breath he walked over to where Ben was standing.

"Okay, I didn't get caught in a mudslide that time. Now are we going to head back?" Riley asked.

Ben didn't answer him, and he didn't appear to have heard him. Riley suddenly noticed the look of anxiousness on his friend's face. He was staring intently at something in the woods.

"Ben?" Riley asked, starting to feel worried. Frowning, Riley followed his gaze. He could make out two distinct figures approaching them.

"Riley, get behind me." Ben said suddenly. Riley turned and looked at the older man with a bewildered expression.

"Ben, they're probably just people from our party or some lost hikers, I think you're over react-"

"_Get behind me_!" Ben snapped at him. Completely taken aback, Riley obeyed this time around. He scurried a little behind his friend.

"What's going on?" Riley asked, feeling the bubble of worry swell considerably in his chest. The treasure hunter's sudden 'imminent danger' aura was unnerving. Ben didn't answer him but as Riley continued to stare at the two people approaching him, his questions were answered.

The first thing Riley noticed was the black gun clutched in the hand of the taller one. Riley's heart sank. It seemed like everywhere they went _someone _was waving a gun around. That's what he got for hanging out with Ben. At least now he knew why Ben was so anxious. Riley blinked as they drew closer. They seemed so familiar…

Then it hit him. Riley had only seen these men twice before, for brief periods of time, the first time mere seconds before a high-speed car chase and the second time at the foot of Mount Rushmore. It was Mitch Wilkinson's cronies. What were their names? David and Seth, if Riley remembered correctly. David was the one who had ears that stuck out and looked particularly violent. Seth was creepier. He was larger and sported a graying beard. His eyes were cold and sinister.

"What are they doing here," Riley said fearfully. "They were thrown in jail."

"Just stay calm," Ben muttered, his entire body on full alert. "Let me do the talking."

"If there is talking," gulped Riley. He clearly remembered the gunshots fired through the window of the Mercedes-Benz on their trip to London.

_Not good, not good_…Ben thought. He backed up a little until he bumped lightly into Riley. Ben wanted to make sure he was easily within grabbing range in case he had to maneuver his friend. Just the fact that David and Seth trailed them to this remote region of the Rockies meant they meant business. Yet Ben took some reassurance in the fact that if the men wanted to kill them they would have done so already.

The two men stopped short in front of the two treasure hunters. Ben looked them up and down, trying to weigh the odds of escape. It didn't look good. Seth had a gun for one thing. Even without the gun, both of them could most likely take Ben out…all it took was one of them to hurt Riley…

Ben wouldn't let his mind go there now.

"Benjamin Gates. Good to see you again," Seth greeted, a cold smile on his face.

_Yeah, you too. The last time I saw you scumbags was when you kidnapped my mother and held her at gunpoint_, Ben wanted to say but bit his tongue.

"You're supposed to be in jail," Ben said. His voice was casual but Riley could tell by the way he kept inching in front of him he was nervous.

Seth shrugged and he and David exchanged smirks. "Being in a family that is in the black market antiquities business has its downfalls as well as benefits."

Riley caught onto something. "You're in the Wilkinson family?"

Seth turned his cold eyes onto Riley. Ben had thrown away subtlety and placed his hand heavily on Riley's shoulder.

David smirked. "I bet you thought we were just some henchmen Mitch hired."

"Well, yeah, I mean you certainly fit the description of a henchman. Big, brawny, looking like you want to hurt anything that moves-" Riley began but Ben gave him a painful squeeze on his shoulder signaling him to shut up.

David glared venomously at Riley. "We're Mitch Wilkinson's cousins. You remember Mitch Wilkinson?"

"Of course we remember Mitch," Riley said impatiently, "It's kind of hard to forget someone who tried to kill you at every turn…"

"Riley…" Ben muttered warningly.

"Really," Seth said, looking interested**. "**Do you think he was merely after the treasure?"

" You guys nearly killed half of London chasing us down for it," Riley said angrily.

Seth laughed and shook his head. "Idiot. The City of Gold was merely a way to give the Wilkinson family a powerful name."

He turned his glaring eyes at Ben. "And you ruined it."

Ben shook his head and steadfastly and met the man's gaze.

"That's not true. You know that's not true. Mitch got due credit for the discovery-"

"You think that matters, _Gates_?" Seth hissed. "Your family's name easily overshadowed ours."

Ben didn't like where this was going. "What do you want," he growled.

Seth stepped forward and took the pistol, pressing it to Ben's chest. Riley nearly stopped breathing as he stared at the gun.

"I want what the Wilkinson family deserved at the beginning. You're going to take us to the cave. You know how to get there, I assume?" Seth smirked.

"Yes," Ben said quickly. Riley resisted giving him a sidelong look of panic.

"But how do you know about the cave?" Ben asked sharply. It was a very closed treasure hunt, away from the public's eyes. Only his team members and the New Mexico Historical Society knew of it. "How?"

"Let's just say we have some inside information," Seth said. Ben felt his heart sink. Did that mean one of the other people in the expedition worked with the Wilkinsons?

"I knew it. It was Dr. Higgins wasn't it? Oh man, I was so right about him," Riley muttered under his breath. Riley suddenly had a sickening thought. Did these men hurt the other crewmembers? Would he give them away by asking?

"How did you find us?" Ben asked carefully.

"It's not too hard to trail your party."

"What did you to them?!" Riley cried, fearing for the absolute worst.

"Oh, don't worry about them. As far as they know you two are perfectly okay. Soon they'll discover you're missing but well…it will be too late by then."

"What are you talking about?" Ben said, growing impatient. "Stop the games and tell us what you want!"

"You're going to lead us there, Gates. Then…we can get rid of you as we please. It will be nothing more then a tragic accident and none will be the wiser."

"You're crazy," Riley said hoarsely, staring at them in disbelief. "You're both demented."

David suddenly strode forward threateningly but couldn't get to Riley because Ben was positioned between his friend and the nutcase. The treasure hunter went into a defensive position ready to fend off any blows that may have come his way.

"I don't like this kid," David growled. "He looks like he might run any second. We should tie him up."

Riley was annoyed by the fact that they felt he needed to be tied up. Ben crossed his arms and glared at the Wilkinsons.

Seth chuckled. "Not necessary. He runs, we shoot. Even if he does he has nowhere to go."

Riley's short-lived relief was rudely interrupted when Seth once again waved the gun in their faces.

"Now why are we standing around? Both of you start moving."

Ben and Riley exchanged a significant look and started walking, David and Seth following behind. The older man steered Riley in front of him to put as much distance between his friend and the psychopaths as possible.

"_The walkie-talkie…_" Riley hissed at Ben while passing him. Ben felt his stomach do a back flip. As long as it was turned on, they still had hope of being rescued…

-

"Where do you think they are?" Josh asked worriedly. He was adjusting the radio, and looking at the transmission. Nathan and Cornelius had already returned from their hike at the designated time. That had been an hour ago.

"They still have their walkie-talkie on…" pointed out Stephen as he indicated to the coordinates. "But it looks like they're getting further away from us…"

"Maybe they just got lost?" suggested Heather.

"I'm going to contact them…hopefully they're not out of range yet," Nathan muttered and picked up his walkie-talkie.

-

Riley couldn't help but feel like he might go off of treasure hunting forever. Couldn't they just follow some nice clues that led them to a life-altering treasure _without _having people threaten them at gunpoint? Was it too much to ask? Apparently, yes. His mind was scrambling for ways out of this one and he was sure Ben's mind was in hyper-overdrive.

Suddenly, a voice crackled from inside Ben's book bag. "Ben? Riley? Are either of you there?"

Ben and Riley froze. The walkie-talkie. It was possibly their only means of getting out of this mess. And now even that cover was blown.

"_Hello?_" It was Nathan's voice and he sounded worried.

Seth smiled grimly at Ben. "Tell him, everything's fine."

Ben gritted his teeth and pulled the walkie-talkie from his bag. He pressed down on the talk button.

Just then Riley darted forward. He was about to shout something, to warn the other crewmembers. Maybe if he did, Ben would get out of this okay.

David was quicker. He roughly grabbed Riley from behind and clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling any sound he would have made. Riley struggled and tried to chomp on his captor's hand. Suddenly he felt the barrel of a gun jabbed into his temple. Seth had pointed the gun at him while David was holding him back.

Ben stood absolutely still, staring in anger and fear as the two men held his friend captive.

"Now…" Seth said slowly as his cousin restrained Riley. "If you don't want your friend's brains blown out, I suggest you do what we say."  
"GUYS! Are you there?" Nathan shouted from the small device in Ben's hand. Eyes never leaving the gun pointing at Riley's head, he slowly raised the walkie-talkie back towards his mouth.

"Yeah. Nathan, we're fine over here. We got a little lost but we know where we are now."  
There was a pause on the other side of the frequencies. "Are you sure?"

Seth glared at Ben. "We can easily kill him. He's just extra baggage."

David pushed the gun harder against Riley 's forehead who was now attempting to stomp on the man's feet.

Ben glared furiously at them. They were using his best friend for leverage. Riley raised his eyes to Ben, managing to shake his head no. _Don't worry about me. Just get out of this Ben. _

"Yes," Ben said quickly. "Everything's good. Over and out."

"I knew you'd see our side of things." Seth walked forward and plucked the walkie-talkie from Ben's hands. With a click that made Ben and Riley's hearts sink, he turned if off.

"Now let go of my friend," Ben said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Sure, Gates. Here you go." David violently shoved Riley forward and Ben managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, helping Riley straighten up.

"Yeah, I'm good," Riley muttered a little breathlessly. He winced and rubbed his forehead where the gun had left a mark.

Riley turned angrily only to find the gun pointing at him again.

"No more funny business or we'll really shoot you next time."

Riley nodded mutely as he stared at the gun and gulped. Ben glared angrily. These men were not like Ian. He had a horrible feeling that they would follow through with this threat without a second thought.

He clearly remembered Sadusky showing him reports of these men after the discovery of Cibola. They killed if it was a necessary means of achieving their end. The agent had informed him that Dr. Nicolas had been murdered, most likely to keep him quiet. There was no doubt in Ben's mind that these men were capable of killing them. Which was why he was so intent on keeping Riley away from them as best he could. But it was kind of hard when his friend kept on being stubborn.

"Y-You don't really think you can get away with this," Riley said incredulously. "We go missing there's a huge search party… you're going to be found out one way or another."

Seth gave the young man his most chilling smile yet. "Maybe…but at least our name will be remembered for something."

"Mitch gave his _life _for that and now you're-"

Seth pointed and cocked the gun at Riley. Ben stepped between them, holding his hands out.

"_Mitch_," growled Seth, "Was not fit to be called a Wilkinson. He never took anything far enough like I said we should. He was too soft…"

Riley's eyes widened. Mitch? _Soft_? That was like saying a cactus that you stepped on was actually a marshmallow.

"And look at you, " Seth continuing, sneering at Riley. "I almost shot you in London, but Mitch stopped me. I could finish the job now. You're nothing…just a complete deadweight and we can shoot you in the face and dump your body in a river and nobody would know the difference."

Ben felt his own cool beginning to snap. He clenched his fists. "Don't you _dare _talk to him like that you bas-"

"Ben, it's fine." Riley said quickly. Seth had now turned the gun to Ben. He was scared Ben would provoke a fight and then they would be _really _screwed. It would be best if they all calmed down. "Sticks and stones and such."

But it wasn't sticks and stones. Ben felt his stomach twist in fury. From the look on David's and Seth's faces Ben had a horrible feeling they would do exactly what they threatened and think nothing of it.

"Keep walking!" barked David. It looked like he wanted to hold the gun. He made due with shoving Ben so he fell in front of them once again. Riley drew himself to Ben's side, so they could talk quietly. Hopefully Seth wouldn't get annoyed at _that_. The Wilkinsons were talking to each other and Riley took this as an opportunity to speak with his friend,

"They can't say things like that to you. They just can't." Ben said softly. Hearing Riley threatened like that had not only made him angry but it scared him.

Riley looked at him, startled. "Ben, it's okay…"

"No," Ben said looking a little sick. "No, I'm supposed to protect you. What if they do what they threaten, Riley?"

"_Ben_," Riley said firmly "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I don't need you to protect me." Seriously, Ben was a soldier or knight or something at heart. Sometimes it was kind of annoying.

Ben sighed and was about to reply but stopped. There was no point in insisting Riley _needed _his protection because that would more than likely insult him.

"Okay, well you might not need protecting. But I _want _to," he said determinedly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I got you into this situation, I'm getting you out."

"Ben…" Riley muttered, running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Riley," Ben said in a quiet urgent voice. "Listen. I just want you to stay close to me, okay? I'll think of something-" A sharp jab of a gun in his back made him stumble forward.

"No chatting. Keep walking." David snarled.

Ben's eyes fell on the woods in front of him and the river at the side. He had no idea where he was taking them, but he would have to think of something fast. _These guys_, he decided, _are more dangerous than any bear will ever be._

-

A/N: Meh. Hope you liked it. Sorry if it seemed rushed, I just wanted to finish before I go camping for a few days :D Hopefully I won't be followed by any gun-wielding Wilkinsons.

NT Fun Fact: Dr. Nicolas was actually murdered. I found this out from an observant person on a forum. Look at the wall coloring of Dr. Nicolas's house in the scene with him, Mitch, Seth and David. Later (when Sadusky gets the call saying the President's been kidnapped) Sadusky and the agents are at a crime scene, which defiantly looks like a murder-scene. The walls are the same color!

I managed to get to see the two deleted scenes from the Blu-Ray. First one is Ben and Abigail related... it's cute. The second shouldn't even be a deleted scene because you can just watch it in the trailer. It's Riley's whole 'death and despair' thing.


	5. Desperate Measure

A/N: Wow, I'm blown away by the reviews! Thank you so so so much to **Time and Fate, KCS, Miss Fenway, Lo, Solitaire42, brroadwaylover07, daisyduke80, Thuraya Known, Samps432, Spice of Life, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, Dillyn Breeze, Ecclesiastes, Carter1994, Bumblebee101 **and **FillyRSA **for reviewing :D Also thanks to those who bade me well-wishes on my camping trip! I had a good time, although there was a lot of on and off raining and a lot of biting flies and creepy crawlies

More notes at the end of the chappie!

-

It was silent as they continued to walk. Riley didn't dare turn around to talk to Ben. Occasionally he felt the older man place a reassuring hand on his back, but that was all. Riley hoped that Ben was formulating some brilliant escape plan because he was too preoccupied by the guns and the two cronies to think of much else.

Ben's mind was racing furiously. So many ideas and thoughts tumbled over each other that they nearly cancelled each other out. He forced himself to take a deep breath and focus his thoughts. _Think. Take in where everything is. _ Riley was walking directly in front of him. Ben felt the gun aimed at his back. He shivered involuntarily as if expecting to feel a bullet lodge itself between his shoulder blades. They were traveling south, the same way the river was flowing. Ben's mind snapped to the initials on the rock. If they were traveling in the same direction as Jesse Riana… there was a small chance…

"Stop," Ben said suddenly. They all came to a halt. Riley nervously rubbed his hands together and looked at Ben.

"What is it, Gates?" Seth asked in his cold drawling voice.

"We need to travel closer to the river," Ben explained, casting a furtive look at Riley. "Jesse Riana traveled along it, leaving markers wherever he stopped. "

"Like Johnny Appleseed," Riley piped up.

Ben continued as if he hadn't heard him. "With luck we can spot another one."

"Hmm." David snorted. "And that leads us to the cave?"

"Yes," Ben said firmly. Suddenly with lightning quick swiftness Seth yanked Riley back by the hair. David blocked Ben's path when he tried to reach his friend. The techie let out a short cry of pain as he was pulled backwards.

"That was completely unnecessary," gasped Riley. Didn't they just go through this same situation about an hour ago?

"Shut up," Seth sighed in annoyance, and yanked Riley's hair so his face was nearly facing the sky. Seth jabbed the gun under the younger man's chin. Riley went silent and swallowed.

"Let him go!" Ben yelled. He moved forward but David pushed him roughly back.

"Nu-uh-uh. Don't come near, _I've _got the gun to his head," Seth in an infuriatingly superior voice. " And I don't want any of your tricks, Gates," Seth said, almost lazily pressing the gun into Riley's skin. "Stop," he added to Riley who was starting to try and squirm away. Riley fell still and let out a sigh of frustration.

Ben looked about an inch away from pulverizing Seth. The treasure hunter was furious at himself for letting Riley fall into Seth's clutches again**.** Hadn't he just said he would protect Riley whatever the cost?

"Seth, I'm telling the truth! There's no need-"

"Are you _sure_?" Seth said coolly and rammed the gun into Riley's throat causing him to choke and cough.

"Oh my g- YES! Let go of him."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" David asked coming up beside his cousin. He cracked his knuckles looking ready to hit Riley if that wasn't the case.

Seth studied Ben for a long moment. Riley had stopped coughing but was breathing heavily. "Yes, he wouldn't blatantly lie at the cost of his friend's life..But I know the tricks you pull, Gates. If you remotely care for your friend you won't do anything."

Seth released Riley who staggered and smacked hard into David. The man growled and made to grab the techie. Ben was suddenly there and roughly shoved the man backwards. "Don't touch him!" Ben shouted and pulled Riley back toward himself. Riley looked vaguely overwhelmed. He was grateful that Ben kept coming to his aid but he was almost positive that even the treasure hunter couldn't keep it up.

For a moment it looked like David was going to throw himself at Ben but then he just sneered and shoved him toward the river.

"You know, you can just tell him when to start walking," Riley snapped.

"This way's more fun. And I'd watch my mouth if I were you, boy," David sneered. Before Riley could tell David he didn't appreciate being called 'boy', Ben put a hand on his shoulder and steered him away, casting an icy glare at David over his shoulder. They started to make their way toward the river, picking their way over low-growing foliage and dead logs.

"I'm sorry," Ben muttered.

"What for?" Riley said, rubbing his neck and wincing. Ben just shook his head and sighed.

-

"Where the _hell _are they," Nathan demanded and banged his hands in frustration on the radio. It had been an hour since they lost the location coordinates of the two treasure hunters. They had not heard the slightest thing from them and they had no idea where they were. "For all we know they both fell into a ditch or something…why would Ben turn off the walkie-talkie?" Nathan tapered off swearing a little under his breath.

"Something's definitely going on," Stephen said tensely, munching on some potato chips.

"I tried opening all frequencies and everything," Josh muttered looking a little perturbed. He looked nervously at Nathan. "D-Do you think… we should get in contact with the Search and Rescue?"

"Maybe we should wait another hour," Cornelius suggested. "There's no sense getting the Search and Rescue all the way out here unless we're sure they're lost."

"Something serious could have happened," Nathan said with a frown. "Ben wouldn't just turn the walkie-talkie off…the batteries were new. There's no reason why we should have suddenly lost contact. And he sounded strained…like something was wrong."

Heather looked vaguely sick. Josh put a tentative hand onto her shoulder. "Heather, are you alright?"

"Yeah…I'm just worried I guess," she sighed.

Nathan looked sympathetically at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you nervous. I'm worried too. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong. Maybe they're absolutely fine, but until we know for sure we need to consider all options."

Nathan turned and nodded at Cornelius. "We'll wait a little longer, but if they don't show up, we'll need to start looking for them."

-

Riley was getting tired. There was only so long he could walk without his already stiff muscles protesting at him. He didn't dare say anything. He was pretty sure these guys were serious…not just talk. Although, he would much rather keep the level of danger at bodily threats. He wasn't looking forward to them bearing the crap out of him….or shooting him. Riley shuddered and tried to fight down his fear.

He looked sideways at the river. It was large and the water was moving swiftly, sometimes breaking into white rapids. They had been following it for a while now and he still didn't know what Ben was up to. Riley guessed Ben was mostly improvising as he went along. But he was telling the truth…the markers could possibly lead them to the cave. Not certainly, but almost. Even if they found it there was the problem of locating the entrance and having proper spelunking equipment…

Riley glanced at Ben. The man's face was set and determined. He had seen that expression before many times on their various treasure hunts. Quite often it was a good reason to worry. It was usually the forerunner of a crazy antic. Now he was relieved by it. It was a reassurance, a small one, but comforting nonetheless.

"Stumble," suddenly came the treasure hunter's voice in a whisper

"What?" Riley breathed back. He wasn't sure if he heard him right, the request was so strange. Ben didn't respond but just gave him a barely perceptible jerk of the head.

Riley shrugged inwardly. Okay then. After a few moments Riley allowed his tired legs to slack off and trip over a root. He gave a fantastic spill to the ground and was quite proud that he pulled it off as a realistic fall. The only problem was that once he was on the ground he realized how truly weary he was.

Ben came up beside him and helped him up. "He's tired. We need to stop and rest for a little bit."

David was sneering at him. "You think we care if your little friend is tired?"

"No, let them rest, " Seth said. "No point in wearing out our means of persuasion yet." Then he cast Riley a smile that sent shivers down the younger man's spine.

Ben tensed and took Riley's arm. "Come on buddy," Ben said quietly, leading Riley away toward the river. They stopped over a steep drop-off, right at the water's edge. Riley looked over the rim and grimaced at the white water below.

"What's going on," Riley whispered to the older man. "What are you going to-"

Ben made a slight shushing motion with his hand. Riley sighed and gratefully sank down on a rock. He was pretty sure his body hated him right now. His muscles were beginning to ache in protest. Riley looked up at his friend to see what he was doing. Ben looked like he was examining something in the river. Then Riley turned back to look at the two Wilkinsons. Apparently they had switched gun duty. David was now holding the weapon quite gleefully. _Great give the violent monkey-looking one a dangerous firearm. This will go over well_, Riley thought.

"Ben…" Riley tried again.

"Shush. It's okay," Ben said softly, his eyes still scanning the river. Riley bit back his annoyance and resigned himself to waiting patiently. He learned that when Ben went into 'riddle-solving' mode it was best to let him pace and mutter by himself. Ben was surveying the river in the same way he did when he was looking at a cipher.

"Okay, that's long enough," David said coldly. He was waving the gun carelessly at them.

"My legs are sore," Riley whined. He was trying to buy more time for Ben who looked like he was still deep in thought. But the complaint was completely true.

"Oh, that's it," David snarled. "You pathetic little-" He advanced toward Riley who jumped in alarm. He felt Ben haul him to his feet and pull him backwards. But then Seth said, "David, stop. You're letting the 'pathetic little' kid get under your skin? Save it for when we need it."

David stopped in his tracks but glared malevolently at the young man.

"Okay, Gates," Seth said coldly. "Let's get moving, shall we?"

Ben didn't move, just quickly glanced behind him. The steep drop didn't leave much hope of a happy landing. But there was a possibility of a safe if not wet one. When he looked back up, David pointed a gun at him.

"What's the matter, Gates," Seth sneered. "Getting cold feet?"

"Start moving, or we'll shoot your friend." His gun clicked to Riley who was miserably staring at it.

"Not again," he muttered. This was like, the third time in the course of a few hours.

"No!" Ben said quickly, putting an arm on Riley's shoulder. "No. I'll go…"

The treasure hunter took a deep breath and chanced another look at the drop off. There were no dark jutting rocks that could prove an untimely and clichéd demise. He applied pressure harder to Riley's shoulder and moved closer to him. Riley looked sidelong at his friend. Ben's eyes darted pointedly toward the water.

"You've got to be kidding me," Riley whispered.

"What are you two doing?!" barked Seth.

"Ben," Riley whimpered through his teeth. "There's a little problem about steep drop offs. Usually there are rocks at the bottom that result in a hard and sudden death. And if not that, a giant waterfall."

"Start walking," Seth shouted. Ben slowly began to go forward.

Riley began to plead with Ben in a whisper. "_This _is Ben's Brilliant Plan? You've had a lot of bad brilliant plans…actually not even brilliant, just crazy…this is your craziest…okay, not your craziest… but you can dive, I can't. My bones are going to break."

"On three," Ben said softly, ignoring him. He took a backward step, still clutching Riley by the arm.

"One…"

The two men turned around and looked at them angrily. David waved the gun at Ben.

"Gates, did you not hear me the first time?!"

"Two…"

Backwards?! They had to jump off the thing backwards. Riley prayed to Whoever was listening that it would be over quickly. Ben took a giant backward step, making sure Riley was next to him. He shivered when nothing but air was separating them and the drop off.

"What're you doing?!" David demanded. Boy, was he slow on the uptake. Unfortunately his cousin was not.

"STOP THEM YOU IDIOT!" Seth shouted, but it was to late.

"Three!" Ben and Riley jumped just as David fired the gun.

-

There was a terrifying few moments of nothing but air and noise then-

SMACK.

They both hit the water.

There were seconds of tumbling blindly, not knowing which was up or down. Ben felt himself break the surface, and he gasped at the air. The water was colder than he would have liked but that was the least of his problems. The current was pulling them along at an incredible rate.

Riley.

He tried shouting his friend's name but ended up getting a mouth full of river water. Ugh.

"Ben!" came a gurgling shout at his left. Ben quickly turned and saw Riley desperately scrambling to keep his head above water. With his coat and pack becoming laden with water it was becoming increasingly difficult to not go under. With a few strokes Ben was at his side, helping Riley stay afloat. Riley coughed and hacked but otherwise seemed unharmed.

"The log!" Ben suddenly shouted over the roar of the rapids. "Grab that log!"

Riley looked wildly around and saw what Ben was talking about. A dead tree was rushing down the river with the rapids. Logs floated, or at least this one did. That just might be helpful. It was as if nature tossed a lifejacket.

Riley managed to somehow maneuver the log's path down the river so it reached Ben, but in doing so he went under the water again. Ben grabbed onto the log and reached over and took hold of Riley's arm, pulling him back above water.

The river raged on all sides and Ben clutched desperately to the slippery wood with one arm, and Riley in turn was holding desperately onto him. He felt Riley shift to get a better grip on him. Fearing that the small man would be washed away down the river, he exerted his strength to maneuver his friend so he was also able to grab onto the log.

"Well," Riley shouted at Ben above the sound of the river after he had finished coughing. "This is great. The only good thing now is that my pants aren't muddy anymore."

"Did you want to get shot?" Ben yelled back at him.

"Well no, but _jumping off a cliff into a raging river_!?"

"It wasn't a cliff, and I'd say it's a semi-rapid river!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING?! It was a cliff! How was I supposed to know you'd go all Pocahontas on me?!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"YOU don't make sense!"

"Riley, swim!"

"WHAT! I'm swimming, I'm kicking my legs that's what-"

"NO, SERIOUSLY, SWIM! GET TO THE SHORE!"

Riley stopped and gulped. "Is there a waterfall coming up?"

"Yes," Ben sighed. "That's why I told you to swim."

Riley looked downstream. Raging, river, rapids, raging river, sky…. There was definitely not supposed to be sky.

"AUGH! BEN! A WATERFALL!"

"DIDN"T I JUST SAY THAT!? GET TO SHORE!"

But the river was too fast and strong from the recent rains. Ben, Riley and the log plummeted over the side of the falls. It wasn't Niagara Falls or anything but it was big enough to induce shouts from both of them.

Once again they found themselves falling, and Riley felt the sickening sensation before smacking into the water. Then he was twirling and whirling like he was in a washing machine. He broke the surface with a gasp, happy for a fleeting moment just to be alive. A few seconds later he realized something with a dawning horror. The waterfall was pulling him toward itself.

_What the- _The falls were not that big. The current should have been traveling in the opposite direction. He felt like he was in a riptide and he was pretty sure riptides didn't happen in freshwater rivers. He attempted to kick away but the current held him fast and continued to rope him in.

Where was Ben!? He looked around frantically and was relieved to see Ben bobbing next to him.

"Do you feel that?" he gasped at him. Ben nodded, looking confused. "This is interesting."

"INTERESTING?! BEN, SOME OF THAT GATES QUICK-THINKING WOULD BE GREAT NOW!"

"I can't do anything, Ri! If we fight it, it'll just make us more tired!"

It was as if the waterfall itself was sucking them forward.

"It's gonna eat us," Riley moaned.

"Okay, just calm dow-"

Suddenly it was like an invisible hand grabbed them from under the water. Riley barely had time to cry out before he was yanked under the waterfall and was pulled into the dark stillness underneath. He struggled against the current but it was unnaturally strong, much stronger then the river's current had been. Riley was running out of air rapidly, his lungs were burning…he needed to breathe in _something_, anything!

Then he broke the surface again but everything had disappeared. Disoriented, he looked wildly around and saw weak reflections of the water reflecting off dark moist walls**. **He heard the familiar roar of the waterfall. Riley treaded water and turned toward the noise. There was the waterfall. It was like an iridescent curtain. Then suddenly realization hit Riley. They had been pulled behind the waterfall. And the current was still dragging them.

Once again he felt himself being yanked downward and he caught one last glimpse of clouded gray sky through the waterfall before plummeting into watery blackness.

-

A/N: Uh-oh ;(

**Notes regarding name errors:** Okay, I'm annoyed at myself. David's name is actually Daniel. DANIEL. Not David. Why have I been calling him David?? Augh, so annoying! I'm not going back to change it but it will be one of those things that grates on me. I'm going to keep calling him David. Also, it's not spelled Dr. Nicolas, it's Dr. Nichols. I know, I know but I'm a stickler for proper name spellings. I should have IMDB'd it one more time before writing the names. Oh wellz.

I also got the idea of Seth and Daniel being related to Mitch from the junior novelization of the movie. In the book, they're actually his brothers! I decided to just make them his cousins. Yes I did read the junior book (shifty eyes). What??

Ben: (after yanking Riley from David) MAH RILEYZ!!


	6. The Temple of Tlaloc

A/N: Sorry for the wait! It's been a little busy and I was at the beach for a few days. Thanks to **KCS, Solitaire42, daisyduke80, Samps432, boradwaylover07, Time and Fate, Dillyn Breeze, Miss Fenway, Thuraya Known, Lo, Anna, Princess Tyler Briefs, DeewanaLarki, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh **and **Anna-Lisa-for-Drake-Bell **for the great reviews :D

Also a special acknowledgment to **Sammykinz **and **ArodieltheElfofRohan **who I missed in the thank yous of the last chappie! Sorry guys :-/ I want to make sure I thank everyone so if I miss your name please tell me : )

Warnings: Some violence, a brief curse word! This chapter is longer and more serious…. Contains angst!

-

Darkness. It was completely and utterly black on every side as if a blindfold had been pulled over Ben's eyes. The treasure hunter groaned and realized he was lying in about three feet of water. Immediately he jerked upright but then regretted the action because his head gave a reproachful throb. He coughed, feeling the water dripping from his face and tried to get his bearings.

Then he heard a dull roaring noise that made him shudder. It brought back the unpleasant memories of trying to escape Cibola. Water was rushing into wherever he was on all sides.

Ben blindly stumbled to his feet, fighting down every urge his body had to completely panic. He had to locate his friend.

"RILEY!" he shouted. No answer. Fear rising rapidly in his chest, Ben closed his eyes and listened.

"RILEY!" he called again. This time there was an answer, although it was barely audible, not because of distance but because it was spoken so quietly.

"B-Ben?"

The older man moved toward the sound. "Yeah, Riley. I'm here. Where are yo-"

Suddenly he stumbled as his legs made contact with something soft sprawled on the ground. He was more than certain it was Riley. Ben knelt down in the water and placed his hands on his friend's wet jacket. Ben felt him shaking violently.

Ben lifted him to his feet and frowned when he heard the heavy breathing from his friend.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked, fearful that Riley had gotten hurt.

"We're going to die," Riley said, in a voice that was frighteningly unlike his own. His breathing began to speed up and he was shaking so badly he could barely stand.

"Riley…"

"We're going to die," Riley said again, this time more wildly. He was now audibly gasping for air and Ben could hear him breathing even over the sound of the water.

Riley was scaring him. He never fell apart like this.

"Listen to me…"

"Ben, we can't get out of here!" He was becoming steadily more hysterical. Two hands gripped him and began to shake him.

"Riley, get a hold of yourself!"

"_We can't get out of here_!"

A hand suddenly struck Riley across the face. It wasn't that hard of a smack but it shocked him back to reality. He couldn't see, but he heard Ben directly in front of him.

"Riley Poole, do I have your attention," he shouted. "Are you listening!"

"Yes," Riley said.

"Good." Ben said in a now quiet voice. "We're not going to die. We're going to think our way out of this, just like every other time. I promise you Riley. We. Will. Get. Out."

Riley was silent for a few moments.

"Riley, did you hear me?"

"Yes," he said again, now under control. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay."

Riley let out a deep breath that seemed to come from the center of his gut. He reached forward until he felt Ben's jacket between his fingers.

"I believe you. Let's get the hell out of here."

"That's my boy," Ben said proudly and gripped Riley's arm. "Now…we're going to have to feel our way-"

"Hang on!" Riley suddenly said, a wave of inspiration hitting him. "My flashlight! I have a flashlight in my bag!"

"You do!" Ben said in surprise. "But, it'll probably be soaked…"

"Well," Riley began smugly, "I took the time to spend a little extra in my purchases and got everything waterproof, because ya know, I had some high techy stuff in here. Which is thankfully now at the camp. Let's see…I got a waterproof bag, waterproof cases, waterproof matches…"

"Okay, great foresight but we could really use that flashlight right now."

"Right." Riley fished blindly around in his bag, hoping that the company who created it lived up to its boasts about having the best waterproof equipment**.** Finally his hands wrapped around the cold metal cylinder.

"Got it."

He clicked it on and a beam of light lanced its way through the dank cave. Both Ben and Riley gasped. Shining back at them, illuminated by the light, were walls made of rainbows. Every color imaginable danced and gleamed in front of their eyes, their radiance enhanced by the flashlight. Upon closer inspection they could make out thousands of jewels and precious stones encrusted into the walls of the cave.

The strange thing was that the interior of the cave was not domed or even spherical. It was square like a normal room. Four sharp angles enclosed the two men within. Jutting out of the wall in each corner was what looked like the lip of a jug. Spilling from their mouth was the water that was rapidly filling the strange sparkling room.

"Holy crap," Riley muttered.

"This is Riana's Cave." Ben said in awe.

"No kidding," Riley breathed. Despite the impending danger, both treasure hunters couldn't help but be dazzled and take a few moments to stare around themselves.

"This is so amazing," Ben said unnecessarily. His eyes were bright and the multi colored jewels danced and reflected within them. A silly smile had formed on his face and he looked completely enraptured with his surroundings.

"Okay…maybe we could look around a little more…later. Like, when we're not about to drown." Riley pointed out and his voice brought Ben back to the current predicament. The water was rising, mercilessly, relentlessly. It had now come up a little above their knees.

"Shine your flashlight," Ben told Riley, and began to look for any means of escape.

As Riley's light shined on the glimmering walls, something caught Ben's eye. He motioned Riley closer and indicated to what looked like Aztec glyphs etched into the jewel-laden walls.

"These markings just might help," Ben murmured. His cryptologist alter ego kicked in and he studied the markings as Riley held the flashlight to them. The two were silent for a minute; the only sound in the room was the roaring of the flowing water. Ben made his way along the wall, running a hand over various markings once in a while.

"Sorry for smacking you by the way," Ben suddenly said as his eyes swept over the raised jewels. "But you were completely gone. I didn't know what else to do to snap you out of it." Ben made his tone casual to cover up the concern he felt.

"No, it's okay. I would have smacked me too." Riley muttered in an embarrassed voice.

Ben wanted to pursue the subject and ask Riley why he freaked out. The older man had no idea what could have caused his friend to go hysterical like that. They had been in tight situations before…

Instead, he carefully tucked the incident into his mind and focused on the more pressing matter. Getting out of this room alive. "Let me think for a minute," Ben said, running a hand over his face**.** He began to pace, muttering quietly to himself. It was a habit he had acquired a long time ago. It drove Abigail crazy but it helped him think.

For once, Riley didn't say anything. But he wasn't sure how many more 'minutes' they could spare. The water was up to his knees. Feeling stupid and useless, Riley closed his eyes and leaned his head on the jewel-laden wall. He couldn't believe he had freaked out like that in front of Ben. It was an incident he wished he could erase and pretend never happened. The best thing he could do to help his friend now was not panic again. He had done nothing but cause trouble for Ben since this whole thing began.

Then his thoughts were interrupted when he felt Ben place a hand on his shoulder. The treasure hunter didn't say anything. It appeared he was still deep in thought, but the gesture was a small comfort.

Finally Ben spoke again, a slow excitement creeping into his voice. "This is…"

"What?" Riley asked. He raised his head from the wall and looked at Ben, his eyes going wide.

"This room. This whole room is… literally designed to show the aspects of the god Tlaloc."

"What?" Riley repeated in a nearly impatient whine. He felt more lost than ever. Ben looked around at him.

"According to the Aztec legend, Tlaloc had four jugs of water. One gave life to plants, one carried frost, the other blight, and the last, destruction."

"Well," Riley said after a moment. "Those don't sound very good…except for the plant one."

"Exactly. Shine your flashlight around the room again."

Riley obeyed and the light once again fell on the water that was pouring in from the four corners. Riley suddenly understood.

"So, each corner represents a different jug…" he muttered thoughtfully. He looked at Ben, hope swelling in his chest. "And somehow…the one that represents life will get us out of here."

"Bingo."

"And the others…"

"Will probably kill us."

"Great. How do we figure out which one?"

"We start looking at the symbols on the wall. There has to be a clue somewhere."

"Man, if you're mom were here we'd be home free."

Ben smiled a little bit. "Yeah. I picked up a little bit from her. Don't worry we'll be fine."

"Yeah." Riley muttered. And he shined the flashlight on the damp walls to help Ben see. _It's about all I'm good for anyway_, he thought glumly to himself. The water was nearly up to his waist now. It was getting increasingly difficult to ignore.

"Here!" Ben suddenly cried. "This one! I remember mom showing me something like this." Riley waded over to him in the upper left corner and squinted at the symbol he was indicating to. It looked like a three-pronged leaf, each appendage protruding from a central circle.

"It means plant life, fertility and growth." Ben frowned. "But now that we know what corner it's in…" He didn't want to say _I'm not sure what to do next_.

Riley suddenly remembered something from a long time ago…behind Mount Rushmore and above Cibola. He looked at the jar lodged into the wall as it continuously gushing out water.

"Ben, maybe you have to stick your hand in that jug?" Riley suggested. "Maybe there's a latch or something…?" He trailed off. "On second thought, don't stick your hand in."

His words went unheeded to Ben who had already bounded up to the jug and was standing off to its side so water wouldn't be spewed at his face

"Uh, Ben. Your mom's right. It's a horrible trap."

Ben ignored him and flexed his hand. He began to maneuver it into the spout of flowing water. Riley suddenly grabbed at his arm.

"BEN! Horrible. Trap. Severed. Hand. Severe. Blood loss."

Ben looked at him and raised an eyebrow, Riley still holding his arm back. Riley took a deep breath and met Ben's eyes. "Let me do it."

Ben yanked his arm away. "NO."

"Ben, I've done nothing but cause trouble for you. Let me be useful."

"Riley, stop. You're not trouble. I got us into this, I'm doing it."

"Stop being so annoyingly heroic! We need your brains more than my brawn."

"Well, stop being so annoyingly stubborn! Look, arguing won't get us anywhere right now. If we keep it up we'll both drown, severed hands or not"

Riley fell silent but glared helplessly at Ben.

"Now stand back. In case this thing opens I don't want you to get flooded in case a huge wave of water comes out."

"Oh heaven help us," Riley muttered. "Will he ever cease?"

"Riley, I'm bigger than you. I can block more of the water. You'd be swept away in a second."

"Hey, I resent that."

"Just stand back."

Ben took a deep breath and plunged his arm into the open top of the jug. His hand was nearly pushed right back out with the pressure of the water against it. He fumbled around until his hand closed around something. His heart leapt in his chest. It was a latch. Just like at Mount Rushmore.

"Stand back," he told Riley for a third time. Riley was staring at him with growing apprehension, the light of his flashlight jumping and twitching on where Ben's arm was submerged. What if this wasn't the right one?

Then with a grunt, Ben jerked his arm back and there was a dull clunking noise of a lever being pulled. Nothing happened. Ben stood back, panting. His face was dripping with water and he looked perplexed. Then there was a slow rumbling sound that grew louder, vibrating deep within them. There was the unmistakable raw grating of stone against stone. Ben leapt backward as the wall began to grind open. With an echoing clank, it stopped to reveal a staircase. Riley and Ben laughed.

"Yes!"

"Sweet!"

Ben turned to Riley and grinned. "After you, sir!"

"No, dear chap, after you!"

"No, I insist!"

Chortling madly, they both sprung over to the staircase and pulled themselves out of the oppressively rising water.

"We got out! Just like you said!" Riley said, still grinning. He swung his flashlight one last time to look at the dazzling cave. The water was beginning to lap at the staircase.

"Let's get out of here," Ben said. They began to ascend the staircase, step by step. There was a low rumbling behind them and neither of them had to turn around to know that the passageway had sealed itself shut.

-

They continued on for a while up the staircase. Both of them were exhausted. It was no secret and stumbling became more and more frequent. Riley felt the uncomfortable clingy feeling of his damp clothes as they weighed him down. He was more thankful than ever for his waterproof bag. He wondered how much of his stuff survived the water dunking. Ben kept glancing at him with concern until Riley decided to placate him with a whine.

"Ugh. It feels like I'm wearing slime."

Ben turned away, satisfied for the time being. Suddenly the staircase leveled off. They found themselves in a flat passageway. Riley waved his flashlight around. The leveled off ground continued for a couple of yards before the staircase continued. They began to walk again with more caution. Suddenly Ben's hand flung out to stop Riley.

"WAIT!" he shouted. "Look…" He motioned to the ground in front of him.

"Oh…no." Riley breathed in dismay**. **

Skulls, skeletons, hundreds and hundreds of them lined the tunnel. It looked like they were crawling on top of each other, straining upwards towards the exit. They were all clustered on the farthest end of the area right before the staircase It seemed some of them had pulled themselves up a few of the stairs before dying. Ben swallowed. Something must have stopped these people from getting any further up the passageway.

"Why are there so many of them?" Riley said softly.

"The Aztecs were an innovational people…but very brutal," Ben said darkly, casting his eyes around the passage. "They created beautiful temples for the sole purpose of killing. There's no doubt in my mind that victims of 'ritual sacrifice' were tossed down here to drown or starve to death.'

Riley shivered. "Good to know."

Ben glanced sidelong at him. "That was hundreds of years ago. People as a whole are wiser and more civilized now."

"Are you sure about that?" Riley asked blandly, looking at the skeletons. Ben went silent. Riley continued to stare at the corpses. "How can a place so beautiful…have such a

horrible purpose?"

Ben looked at him again, his dark eyes studying his friend.

"It's kind of a downer, huh?"

"Big time," Riley muttered. There was another brief silence. "They were trying to get out. Just like we are. Something stopped them."

"Yeah…." Ben mused thoughtfully. He couldn't help but feel how cruel this setup was. These people had escaped drowning just like they had, only to be killed as soon as they made their bid for freedom. A shudder ran through him as he recalled all the stories his mother told him of human sacrifice.

"Bloodletting. Aztecs honored the gods by bloodletting."

He stared at the bones and wished he could make out more of their details in the dim shadowy light. He wanted there was some way to test to see what had brought these people's gruesome demise.

"Ben…" Riley mumbled. "Let me. Please, let me go first."

"Riley," Ben said. Suddenly an emotional lump formed in his throat. He swallowed thickly and shook his head. "No, kiddo. No." He took a deep breath. "There's got to be a way through this safely. "

He cast his eyes around the passageway again. He wished there was a stick or something he could test with. Ben cursed inwardly and balled up his hand into a fist.

Riley sighed. "It looks like we just need to walk through."

Ben hated to agree with the option but it seemed like the only way.

"All right. I'm going first."

"Nuh-uh."

"Riley-"

"You can't go first, Ben! There's no way, not after seeing all those skeletons and everything! You can't-"

"I am NOT, arguing about this again!" Ben snapped in a dangerous voice. "_Don't _even suggest you're going first because I'm not going to let it happen."

Riley looked only slightly perturbed at Ben's outburst. "Ben, what if-"

"There's always going to be a 'what if' Riley! There's always going to be a chance that needs to be taken, and sometimes the only option is to take it!"

Riley bit his lip and took a deep breath. "But…there's a chance you'll be hurt."

"And I'm willing to take it. It could get us out of here."

"Ben…I'm not walking behind you. Please. Let me walk beside you at least. But I can't…" Riley trailed off, staring at his friend imploringly. When Ben spoke again he had to make sure his voice wasn't rough from his throat being tight.

"You're right. It's your choice…and if you're that stubborn…"

"Determined," Riley corrected with a smirk.

Ben smiled at before taking a deep breath. "Okay. Come on. We'll take it bit by bit."

He took Riley's arm and they both stepped into the passageway. Gradually they moved forward, tensing after every step. It was nerve-wracking and they were both gripping the other's arm so tightly it was cutting off circulation. They had now made it up to the skeletons without anything horrible happening. Ben stuck out a leg and carefully pushed some of the bones over to the side.

"Sorry," he muttered to them.

Ben and Riley continued forward. Riley was staring down at the skeletons as he shuffled his feet. Then suddenly his feet came into contact with the staircase. They had made it across! Riley let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

"No giant boulders or poison-tipped arrows!"

Ben gave him a grin, relief flooding through him as well. They started up the staircase once again.

"See? And you thought something was going to hap-"

Then everything happened at once. Riley cried out as his foot plunged downward. The step of the staircase had flown open like a Venus flytrap. Before Riley could react and pull his leg away it clamped back down, closing in on his foot just enough to entrap him. Ben sprang downward to free him but there was a familiar rumbling sound and they both looked up the staircase in horror. Water surged downward at them from the above. Ben moved in front of Riley, his back to the flood, hoping to block as much of the water as he could. Then it hit them like a brick wall.

The water flowed on every side and Ben felt it pressuring him downwards. Riley meanwhile was desperately trying to yank his foot out of the trap it had fallen into. Ben gripped Riley's leg and gave it a sharp jerk. With a gasp of pain from Riley, his foot was freed. They both stumbled upright and Ben had to scream to make himself heard over the water.

"I'm going up backwards! Be my eyes, look behind me!"

Riley only nodded. Ben couldn't turn the front of his body into the violent flow of water. He wouldn't be able to see anything. If he was going up the stairs backwards, then he could block the water for Riley who could look behind him and see if anything was going to hit him.

They began to ascend the staircase like that and Riley couldn't help but think a little miserably that Ben got his wish for going first.

Riley suddenly snapped his head up and stared in horror. What looked like a giant branch was thundering toward them. There was no way they could both evade it. Riley only had time to cry out a warning and Ben didn't even look behind him.

With lightning reflexes he slammed Riley into the side of the passageway and covered him with his own body.

The huge branch smashed into Ben, digging it's heavy limbs into him, causing him to cry out it pain. It rushed downward into the blackness and almost taking Ben with it if Riley had not been gripping him. The man's eyes widened in shock and pain. Riley was gazing in terror.

Ben slowly lowered his eyes to where Riley was staring. He saw wood protruding from his shoulder. It was like a spear had gone right through him.

"Ri…" Ben began, and blinked in confusion. Then he fell forward and Riley barely reacted in time. He caught Ben as his friend slumped against him.

"Ben, Ben, are you with me?" Riley asked frantically. Ben groaned in pain and forced his eyes open. "We…need to get…the rest of the way…out," he hissed through his teeth.

"Okay. Okay…come on. Lean on me, Ben."

"Ahhh…shit," Ben moaned as his wounds felt like someone set fire to his body.

Riley wrapped Ben's arm around his shoulder and they slowly ascended the staircase.

Ben seemed to be steadily leaning on him more with each passing minute. The water was hitting both of them now, it was hard to see the top and it was like looking directly into a shower nozzle. Riley could tell they were getting closer to their way out because of the fractured light through the water. He prayed nothing else would be swept down the passageway.

Finally, they broke through the sheet of water and were greeted with a grey churning sky.

But they weren't in the clear yet. The tunnel had opened up to the side of the river, barely leaving room for movement without falling in. Then suddenly, to Riley's complete horror, Ben went slack against him and tumbled forward. When Ben hit the water he was already unconscious.

Riley cried out Ben's name and threw his pack over to the river's edge. He jumped into the water and thankfully didn't have to swim far. Ben was still floating on top of the frothing water. Riley grabbed him under his arms and kicked out, dragging Ben back toward the shore. When they reached dry land, Riley was gasping for breath. He pulled Ben the rest of the way out of the water.

Ben wasn't moving. Riley rolled him onto his back and put an ear to his chest.

Nothing. He checked for breathing. Nothing.

His memory snapped to all the first aid training he had. Ben had insisted everyone going on the expedition have at least basic knowledge. Probably in case something like this happened. But Riley had always figured _Ben _would be the one performing CPR. Not the other way around.

He positioned himself so that Ben lay horizontal from him then moved his hands over Ben's chest, linking the fingers to begin chest compressions. His stomach was feeling a little squeamish about the prospect of breaking one of Ben's ribs but it was better a broken rib than dead. He took a deep breath, about to thrust his hands downward.

Then, before Riley could do anything, Ben convulsed and began a violent fit of coughing. Riley let out a shuddering sob of relief. Ben continued to cough and retch up water and then finally drew in a hoarse shuddering breath.

Riley collapsed in a heap next to Ben. The man was breathing steadily now. That was close. That was too close. Riley felt like breaking down and crying right then but he couldn't. Not yet. He took off his coat and elevated Ben's head onto the makeshift pillow. Riley didn't want to move him anymore than that.

Riley checked Ben's breathing again. Still there. He checked the pulse. Weak, but a pulse. He sank onto the ground next to his friend and finally allowed the tears that were mingled with river water to trickle down his face.

-

A/N: Poor Riley he got slapped in the face! Just kidding. Poor _Ben _he got impaled by a giant branch!

Man, when I was doing research for this chapter I came across some unpleasant things about Aztec sacrifices to gods. (shudders) Don't look this stuff up right before you go to bed. The images alone are creepy enough.

Yeah, I know they got out of the cave pretty quickly. I hope this chapter made sense! It was kind of confusing to write but I hope I straightened it out okay. I'll explain what happened in the last part of their escape in the next chapter if it was confusing to anyone.


	7. To Build a Fire

-

A/N: Once again, I'm blown away by the reviews!! :D Wow! Big hugs to **KCS**, **Anna-Lisa-for-Drake-Bell**, **Miss Fenway**, **Princess Tyler Briefs, Pennstance Flinn, broadwaylover07, Thuraya Known, Deewana Larki, Dillyn Breeze, daisyduke80, fallen.leaves19**, **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, HeavenRose, master of time, Lo **and **Sammykinz **for the reviews! Seriously guys, thanks. This chapter is a bit of a break from all the excitement. A lot of dialogue but I tried to make it interesting.

To **master of time's** question: Yes, they did, but when looking up the god Tlaloc multiple sources said the victims were sacrificed by being drowned (cuz he's a water god I guess) as opposed to the other way.

**  
**Warnings: MAJOR OW FACTOR. I was kind of getting squeamish writing some of this.

**-**

"Ben?"

Ben groaned, confusion disorienting his senses. He didn't want to wake up. Couldn't he just stay in the blissful state of oblivion a few moments longer…?

"Ben…are you waking up?" The voice was strained and there was something in it that made Ben know he had to struggle his way back toward consciousness. A hoarse moan escaped him again. Something wasn't right. Everything felt heavy and damp. He squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to move.

Then he cried out as white hot pain shot from scattered places over his body, the most intense from his shoulder. He heard the voice curse and felt two hands restrain his arms. They held him still until Ben's breathing calmed down.

"Can you hear me?" The voice said in a now soft and nearly quivering tone. Then Ben came back to himself and his eyes snapped open.

"Riley…" he rasped. His friend swam before his eyes. Ben blinked and shook his head slightly to clear his vision. The younger man's face and hair were speckled with dirt. His hair was damp and water was still dripping from his face. Ben noticed he didn't have his jacket on, but his sweater was torn and there were some nasty looking scrapes on his arms.

"You look like hell," Ben coughed.

Riley gave him a lopsided smile. "You should see yourself before you pass judgment."

"What happened?" Ben asked as he strained his memory. The images played in his mind like a slideshow. The darkness…water, _lots _of water…a staircase, then a blinding pain.

"We got the rest of the way out but you fainted and fell into the water. I pulled you out."

Ben nodded then winced_._ He coughed again and attempted to sit up.

"Ben, don't-" Riley's warning came too late. Ben yelled as the fiery pain once again lanced through his body. "…sit up." Riley finished, his eyes impossibly wide. "Ben, your shoulder…" The piece of wood was still wedged into it.

"S-Sit me up…against a tree," Ben said through gritted teeth. Riley glanced over and was thankful to see a tree a few paces away. "Okay," he breathed. As carefully as he could, he helped Ben sit up and maneuvered him over to the tree.

Ben leaned heavily against the bark and looked grimly at Riley. "You pull it out. I can't do it myself."

Riley felt a little nauseated. "But…I don't…"

"Riley, please…" Ben said, going slightly paler.

"Okay." Riley gulped. "Okay." He swallowed back bile that was in his throat and looked at the object protruding from Ben's shoulder, then to Ben's pained expression. His mind made up, Riley zipped open his book bag. Now was the moment to see how useful his supplies still were. His hands closed around what he was looking for. A small first aid kit. He took it out, shook off some droplets of water and snapped it open. The techie didn't take anything out of it yet but he had to be ready.

"Hang on," Ben suddenly mumbled. He groped around on the ground until his hand closed around a small stick. He placed it firmly between his teeth and nodded to Riley.

"Pull it out …" Ben implored, his voice slightly muffled. Riley positioned his trembling hands above Ben's wound; sweat beginning to form on his brow.

Ben looked at him expectantly, his own face drenched in sweat. "Do it," he clenched his jaw in pain. "Please…remove it…"

Riley was pale and his hand was wavering, still reluctant. Finding he just needed to get it over with, Riley grasped the wood wedged into Ben's shoulder and gave a sharp tug.

Ben let out a short cry of pain, biting viciously down on the wood wedged between his teeth.

Riley looked and saw the offending object fully removed and in his hands. It was dark with Ben's blood, almost black. He gave a short prayer of thanks that no splinters or small bits of the branch were left behind.

Ben let out wavering breaths but there was an enormous look of relief on his face. It felt like a parasite had been removed from him. He spat out the stick that had taken some of the brunt of the pain and closed his eyes, his head on the rough bark of the tree.

Riley smiled shakily and held up the shard of stained branch. "It's all out." Ben nodded and gave him a weak smile back.

Riley seemed so relieved that he had removed the branch, that Ben couldn't tell him about the deep radiating pain in his back and side. At least not at the moment. Ben knew he was being stupid about it but he didn't want to see Riley more scared and worried than he already was.

"Um, I think I need to get the coat off, Ben." Riley said. He wanted to treat the open wound thoroughly.

"You need to cut around it…" Ben mumbled. Riley nodded, trying not to let his own nausea get the better of him as fumbled through the first aid kit for some small scissors**. **As carefully as he could, he began to cut around the fabric of Ben's coat**. **When he was finished dismembering it, he tugged off the tattered remains so Ben was now in his sweater.

Even through the sweater he could see the blood beginning to soak the fabric. He had to stop the bleeding _fast_**. **Quickly, Riley took out the sterile bandages and antiseptic from the first aid kit.Then he paused, looking at the blood.

"Not to be awkward, but the sweater needs to come off too."

"You're not cutting up my sweater," Ben protested through gritted teeth.

Riley rolled his eyes. "Okay, but I need to see where the branch got you."

Ben sighed and nodded, knowing that Riley was right. He lifted a hand and pulled up the sweater. Riley swallowed and forced himself to look at the bloody mess underneath**. ** He blanched considerably but quickly began to treat the wound.

He looked through the first aid kit but finding no fabric, he swiftly ripped off a piece of his own sweater and pressed it onto the treasure hunter's bleeding shoulder. Ben jerked, a sharp gasp of pain and surprise escaped him.

"Sorry," Riley muttered apologetically, feeling guilty that he gave no forewarning. Ben squeezed his eyes closed and went completely still as Riley pressed down harder on the wound. Blood soaked the piece of cloth and drenched Riley's hands crimson. He held it in place, not moving it.

Ben struggled not to cry out. His breathing had sped up alarmingly as Riley performed the painful procedure. Riley bit his lip and continued to apply pressure. The puncture wound was nasty, he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up. Finally, the bleeding lessened. He removed his hand from the puncture and Ben immediately took in a few shuddering breaths.

But Riley wasn't done; he started to bandage the wound tightly. Ben actually began to wrench himself away from the pain and Riley had to force him to sit still. Finally, he completed the grueling process.

"All done Ben," Riley said shakily. "I'm done."

Ben glanced weakly at Riley and offered him a small, almost apologetic smile. His eyes darted downward.

"Riley, your hands…"

Riley looked down at his hands and saw they were covered in blood. "Ah, geez!"

He scrambled up, but as he made his way to the river's edge, he suddenly let out a gasp of pain, nearly stumbling. The pain had come from his ankle…he cursed silently. It must have been when they were escaping the cave, and his foot got stuck in the trick step. Ben had wrenched his foot out. That's when it must have gotten hurt. Riley frowned and gingerly put his weight back on the injured foot. He hadn't even noticed it was wounded until now!

Riley bit his lip and pushed the pain aside, concentrating on the task at hand. There were more important things to worry about then a hurt ankle. He dipped his hands into the river and kept them there even after the cold water had washed the blood off.

When he came back over to Ben, his friend looked betteralthough he was still drawing in unsteady breaths. It seemed like he was using up a lot of energy trying to keep his demeanor neutral.

Ben looked up at Riley and blinked. "Thank you, Riley," he murmured tiredly. Riley felt guilt churn in his stomach. He had spent the last half hour basically torturing his friend.

"I…I'm sorry…I had to hurt you like that. I hated it."

"You did what had to be done, kid. And if you hadn't done that I would have probably bled to death."

_You still might_, Riley thought fearfully.

They sat in silence. The river rushed ceaselessly in front of them. They heard various birds call to one another.

The full weight of their situation suddenly crashed into the silence like an anvil.

They were lost somewhere in the Rocky Mountain wilderness. They were cold, drenched, and could possibly go hungry. At least one of them was severely injured. Not to mention they had two dangerous men looking for them.

Riley was suddenly paler than normal. "What if…something happens to you?" he whispered anxiously. Ben picked his head heavily off of the tree bark and looked and his friend.

"Riley, what part of 'we will make it' don't you get?"

"Ben…"

"Ri." Ben nudged his friend's shoulder gently. "It's okay. We'll be okay."

"When you say it, it sounds so peachy keen. Like it might maybe possibly actually happen."

"Because it _will_," Ben persisted.

A smile tugged at the corners of Riley's mouth as he looked at Ben."You're crazy, you know that? I have a psychopath for a best friend."

"Wow, you just figured it out now? I thought the whole stealing the Declaration-kidnapping the president was kind of a clue."

Riley laughed. "Yeah, you'd think?"

"And…" Ben tilted his head toward him. "Have I gotten us killed yet?"

"No…" Riley grinned.

"Have I gotten us…_blown up_?!"

"Well almost! On the Charlotte!" Riley laughed.

"Well we got out of there, didn't we?"

"Sure we did!"

Ben nudged him lightly. "We'll get out of this one too."

Riley looked over at Ben. He was so pale; blood was smeared on his face and he was covered in sweat. But an encouraging smile was on his face, despite how weakened he was. Ben wanted Riley to believe, to give the younger man something to hold onto**. **He wanted to give him hope. Riley gave Ben one of his lopsided smiles.

"Okay," Riley said.

-

Ben looked at his best friend and resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. He wasn't sure if his body was up to hair ruffling in its current condition anyway. He felt the stinging pain on his back and every time he shifted his position, not only his shoulder protested but the side of his torso did as well. He was pretty sure the branch had succeeded in breaking or at least fracturing one of his ribs. Riley was already so worried….he didn't need more to worry about at the moment. And there wasn't much he could do anyway; it wasn't like Riley knew how to splint a rib.

Ben had tried to make his voice sound confident and sure for the younger man. But deep down he was uncertain of what would happen to them. Ben winced and leaned his head against the tree again.

_God…what have I gotten us into?_

"So let's see," Riley mused. "How many options are open for us?" He began to count on his fingers. "We can wait for the search and rescue to find us. OR if they don't find us first, we can wait for Thug One and Thug Two."

"Or we can start moving so they won't find us," Ben muttered.

"No, we're not moving you. You're sitting right against that tree until the rescuers find us."

"Riley…it's only my shoulder," Ben lied through his wincing. "What if the Wilkinsons find us?" His young friend was looking suspiciously at him.

"I remember learning in first grade that when we got lost we were always supposed to _stay where we are_."

"Yeah, well-" Ben attempted to move his position by pushing himself up but a sharp pain lanced through his side. He hissed in pain, a hand snapping over his ribs. Immediately, he drew his hand away, not wanting Riley to know how hurt he was.

"Ben!" Riley exclaimed worriedly. "What the heck was that? Does your side hurt? What else hurts?"

Ben shook his head, stubbornly composing his expression. Riley frowned and scooted closer to his friend.

"I'm fine. Nothing hurts." Ben sighed and closed his eyes.

"Oh, that's hugest load of crap I have ever heard," Riley said in annoyance. "Sorry to burst your bubble but you're not bulletproof." Then in a quieter voice he added, "It's okay if it hurts, you know. Don't try and pretend it doesn't."

"I can handle it," Ben said, eyes still closed. Riley frowned but thought it best not to try to wriggle the facts out of Ben at the moment. The man could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to be. Now that he knew Riley wanted information, he would be all the more obstinate and not tell him a thing.

Riley sighed, looking up at the sweeping Rocky Mountain sky. Being helpless always made him feel so worthless and small.

Suddenly there was a strange haunting noise that cut through the stillness. It sounded like the scream of a cat. The noise was distant, sounding like it had echoed down from the mountains, but it was still frightening. Riley jerked his head up fearfully and looked at Ben.

"It's a mountain lion," Ben identified, although he was startled by the sound as well. "Don't worry, they don't bother people for the most part."

"Key words being 'for the most part'," Riley shuddered. The mountain lion screamed again, this time it was more distant. Riley let out a breath.

"Did I tell you that I have a particular sore spot for nature?"

"Yes. Several times in fact."

"Good, just wanting to get that out there."

There was another pause and Riley hugged his legs to his chest, his heart beating slightly faster from hearing the cat scream. More to take his mind off the possibility of a giant carnivorous feline wandering close by he asked, "When were escaping on the staircase… what went wrong? Every just happened so fast…"

Ben's eyes remained closed and he let out a shallow sigh."It was all some kind of sick trap. We made it across and thought we were home free. Then you got stuck in that trap... and that somehow activated the water flow." Ben gave a slight shudder as he considered the options after that.

"And that killed the people?" Riley asked uncertainly.

"No…they weren't drowned right away. They were thrown backwards by the current. My guess…is that the force of the water snapped the foot that was trapped, sending them back down the stairs. It was either that or they remained stuck there until they drowned or some debris like that branch killed them."

Aslightly revolted expression appeared on Riley's face. "That's…horrible," he muttered. Ben nodded his assent. They felt sudden enormous thankfulness that they had escaped with their lives. If it hadn't been for the other they would have never made it out of there alive.

Ben suddenly winced again as some unseen pain went through him. Riley carefully put a hand on his arm.

"Ben, where does it hurt?"

"It doesn't matter, Riley. You wouldn't be able to do much for it."

"Maybe, but I think it would be a very good idea to tell me."

A slight smile quirked on Ben's lips. "Why's that?"

"So I can know what's wrong! Seriously, Ben, how am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me things!"

"Speak for yourself. Remember that one time you had that high fever and you didn't tell me? You came with me to the Archives to help decode some cipher and you nearly collapsed!"

"Right…and how did you feel that I didn't tell you?"

"Well…I was worried, and I was angry at you. I mean, what would possess you to not tell me you were that sick?"

"Why won't you tell me what else is hurting you?" Riley shot back. Ben's mouth snapped closed and he glared at Riley. He remained stubbornly silent.

"Ben!" Riley almost threw up his hands in frustration. "We're in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico! The only person here that you need to hide something from is me, and you're doing a really crappy job!"

"My ribs," Ben sighed. "And my back."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Riley muttered.

About twenty minutes and many bandages and antiseptic later, Riley had managed to dress the gashes in Ben's back.

"These could have been infected real easily," Riley admonished, putting on the finishing touches.

"Thank you Dr. Poole."

"I'm sorry I can't do anything for the ribs…" Riley said quietly. "Do you need anything? Do they hurt badly?"

"No, it's fine. I'm okay, Riley."

Riley was suddenly fed up. "Look, its okay. You don't need to be the tough guy around me. I'd hate to break it to you, but at this point it's kinda obvious it hurts anyway. So you can tell me, Ben. Let me be strong for you for once."

Ben's anguished eyes trained themselves on Riley and something that resembled pride flickered through them.

"Does it hurt?" Riley asked again, testing him.

Ben nodded weakly. "Like hell," came the reply.

**-**

The sun was still above the treetops but they both knew that night would come soon. Despite this impending problem, Ben had finally given into the sleep that his exhausted and battered body needed. But it seemed that even in his sleep he would open his eyes every once in a while to check on Riley then fall right back asleep.

Riley was still sitting next to him, mentally putting together a checklist of issues that would prove most problematic for them. Mostly he was worried about Ben and how soon he would need real medical assistance, or if he should he be waking him up every hour or something.

As he was thinking these things, a sound from the woods suddenly caught his attention. Riley snapped his head up at the noise and then barely restrained a girly scream that would have almost certainly come out of his mouth. Even in his half-concious state, if Ben ever heard Riley shriek like a girl, the techie was relatively sure Ben would never let him live it down.

A mountain lion padded its way toward them.

"Oh, crap." Riley whispered. He never hated nature more then he did at that moment. It was why he stuck with computers. No spiders, no poison ivy. No giant cats advancing toward your severely injured friend.

The cat was huge and Riley had only seen one a handful of times before, but then there had been a nice cage separating them both. It came within ten yards of the humans then sat down, tail flicking. It didn't seem that interested in him but it had fixed its unblinking green eyes on Ben. The look it gave him was more than simple curiosity.

Riley slowly picked up a branch on the ground and positioned himself between the overgrown cat and his friend. Although he was relatively sure the thing could snap both him and the branch in half pretty easily.

"Riley…" he heard Ben whisper. It startled the heck out of him. He thought Ben was still asleep.

"Kinda busy, Ben," he muttered.

"Listen carefully. Make yourself as big as possible and make as much noise as you can."

_Make noise? Oh right, scare it away._ _Well, okay then. You asked for it. _Riley took a breath and let it fly; shouting as loud as he could whatever came into his mind. "Get outta here you overgrown housecat!!"

He carried on for a while, screaming at the top of his lungs and waving the stick. He would have been enjoying it if it wasn't for the killing machine a few yards in front of him. Ben must have been getting a kick out of it though.

Then, almost lazily, the cougar turned around and trotted back into the forest. Riley waited until it was gone before throwing the stick down in triumph. "Ha! Awesome. I just took on a cougar!"

"Congrats, Tarzan," Ben smirked.

"Even _you_ have to admit that was pretty amazing."

"Yeah," Ben said, his expression softening as he looked at Riley. "It was."

-

The night began to enclose around them. It was getting steadily colder and Riley was getting steadily more anxious.

Riley sat right next to Ben, pressed up against him, so he felt it when his friend began to shiver. Ben was only in his sweater since Riley had shredded up his coat with the scissors. The techie wished he still had his own coat to give him, but that was still damp. The next best thing was his hoodie. It was also still a little wet but it was dryer then his coat.

Riley shrugged it off and got a taste of the now chilly evening air. _Dang_, it was cold; he had forgotten how swiftly the temperature changed in the mountains. But Ben needed the warmth more then he did. He draped the hoodie over Ben, providing an extra layer. His friend looked at him in protest. "Riley-"

"Ben, you're shivering. You need it more than I do."

"But-"

"Zip!"

"I-"

"Nope! Stop it."

Ben closed his mouth, looking royally peeved. Riley grinned sheepishly at him. "You can thank me later," he said. At the moment it was getting _really _chilly and Riley needed something more than a shirt on. He sorted through the book bag to see if there was anything that could prove helpful.

Ah, another sweater. That was useful but…He glanced at Ben. The man was still shuddering. Riley made up his mind. "I'm going to build a fire!" he announced. Ben rolled his eyes toward him.

"You know how?"

"I'll figure it out. I was in boy scouts for two years."

Ben's lips twitched into a smile.

"You were in boy scouts? Can't see it."

"Yeah, I know. Why do think I hate the outdoors?"

"I thought it was because of the toad."

"I _met _the toad at boy scout camp. "

-

It took a half hour plus nearly twenty matches that he found in the bag, but a tiny spark finally caught and began to grow, catching on the kindle he collected from the surrounding trees.

"That's right, fire. You catch," he muttered to it. He stepped back and admired his handiwork.

"Cheater," Ben said.

"Hey- it was either cheating or freezing our butts off. And besides, how else was I supposed to get a merit badge? I mean it's not my fault I can't make enough friction when I rub two sticks together."

"I don't know if I should be more amazed that the matches survived the river…or that you started a fire with them." Ben mumbled.

"Oh, Ben. You underestimate the power of a waterproof bag."

Ben smiled, his face now reflecting the snapping fire. Riley switched the hoodie over Ben's shoulders for the less damp sweater he had found his book bag. Then he pulled on his own hoodie again. The heat from the fire was helping ward off the cold. He sat across from Ben, making sure the precious fire was continually burning bright.

"Warmer?" Riley said after a bit. Ben nodded ever so slightly.

"Thanks, Riley," he murmured tiredly. Riley glanced over and tried not to appear as concerned as he felt. He didn't want to think about what would happen if the rescuers didn't come by tomorrow...

Riley swallowed and turned away from Ben, poking at the fire with a stick. Ben must have caught his distraught expression.

"Hey. Come here, buddy," Ben said motioning with his head. Riley moved over and sat next to his friend again. Ben scooted closer (as much as he could without wincing) until their shoulders touched. They both gazed into the snapping fire. Riley kept looking back at Ben and was unnerved to see how pale and drawn his face looked.

He began to talk, mostly for Ben's benefit to distract him from the pain.

"Do you know what you're gonna name the baby?"

Ben looked over at him, his eyes lighting up. "Well, Abigail likes the name Eleanor… I like Charlotte. She's so stubborn! I keep telling her how important the name Charlotte is in the Gates family…"

"Remember when you first met Abigail? She thought you were nuts," Riley snickered.

"She thought you had a few loose screws as well, don't flatter yourself," Ben said with a weak chuckle. Riley smiled and they were quiet for a few moments. Things had certainly come a long way since then.

"Hey, remember the first time we met?" Riley asked.

"How can I forget _that_? You spilt coffee all over me!" Ben laughed and shook his head.

"_Hot _coffee," Riley said proudly.

Ben shook his head and chuckled. "Geez. What's it been….almost eight years now."

He looked at Riley who grinned back at him. "Eight long torturous years of misery and woe!"

Ben looked incredulously at his friend. "I should be the one saying that! You're the one who started it all by spilling coffee on me!"

"Hey, if I didn't do that then…" Riley thought about it. "Well, maybe we wouldn't have started off our friendship with a mug of coffee on your shirt."

"Oh Riley. What am I going to do with you," Ben said fondly.

After a few moments Riley spoke up again. His voice was now quieter and more serious.

"But Ben, seriously. Thanks for everything. If I had never met you…." He shuddered. "I would still be stuck in the dead end job with that horrible warty boss."

Ben smiled a little bit. When he first met Riley he seemed to have blended in with the uniformly gray cubicles as well as a tarantula on a wedding cake. Riley was just being friendly and energetic but apparently that didn't go over well in Zombieville (Riley's term for his former work place).

It had been one of the best things that had happened to Ben, finding Riley. The kid had turned out not only to be a hard-worker and bright assistant in the treasure hunts but he was also as loyal as they came. Without him, Ben wouldn't have gotten far at all, let alone found any treasure.

Ben sighed and thought a little about the search for the Templar Treasure…how on the way he picked up two precious people one of whom became his best friend the other his wife, treasures even more precious then anything he found under Trinity Church.

After a moment he spoke again. "Well, Riley, I can honestly say I'm happy to have found you in your little cubicle, coffee or no coffee."

Riley looked at him happily. "Thanks Ben! I'm glad you took the chance on me. Now we're stuck with each other, I guess."

Ben smiled as he looked back at his friend. They had known each other for a long time… but there was still quite a bit Ben didn't know about his friend. The more Ben thought about the more disturbed he became. He hardly knew anything about Riley's family…or his past for that matter. He had picked up various clues over the years. Riley had only volunteered some vague information.

"Hey Riley," Ben said softly, staring into fire.

"Yes Ben?" Riley looked back over at him. Ben paused for a moment before continuing

"I was thinking…I've known you for eight years…you're my best friend. But I know nothing about your family. All you told me is you have relatives that live in California."

Riley frowned sharply at him and turned back to the fire.

Startled, Ben backpedaled. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."

Riley was silent for a few moments before sighing. It was true. Ben was going to ask at some point anyway. "There's not much to tell Ben." Actually there was, but he just wanted to downplay it.

"Both my parents died when I was little. I don't really remember them. I lived with my grandmother. She's the one who raised me. She died when I was fifteen. I was put in a foster home until my aunt and uncle took me in." He shrugged and suddenly found the strings on his hoodie interesting to play with.

"I'm sorry," Ben said, feeling saddened.

Riley looked a little annoyed. "For what?"

Ben just shook his head. He had never known that about Riley. His best friend's family had always been such a closed subject.

"Was your Grandma nice?" he found himself asking.

Riley looked at him in confusion, as if he was wondering why Ben was still asking about his family. But to Ben's surprise he just smiled and answered him. "She was the greatest, Ben. She taught me everything that makes me who I am." He sighed and shook his head. "I was still a kid when she died, and she was all I had. But she lived out every moment, even in her last days." Riley's eyes were soft in the glow of the fire at the memory of her. "She's still a big part of me."

Ben nodded, thinking of his own grandfather. "Yeah. Grandpa John was like that too."

They sat there for a moment and Riley glanced at Ben again. He cleared his throat, looked like he was about to speak then closed his mouth. Then he opened his mouth again. "You…you and Abby are practically my family. " He was looking at Ben with a shy smile.

Ben blinked and squeezed Riley's arm. "So are you."

Now it made more sense why Riley was so fiercely loyal to his friends. They were the only family he had. Well, besides a few estranged relatives in California. Ben frowned guiltily. He recalled all the times he hadn't made much of an effort to be a good family for the kid.

It had taken a City of Gold and thousands of gallons of water for Ben realize how much of a self-centered jerk he was to best friend. Now he was working on making things right. Ben knew he would get Riley out of this situation, not matter what it took. It didn't matter how weakened or tired he felt…

"So," Riley said, clearing his throat of any emotion. He spared a glance at Ben and felt his heart sink. The man was frighteningly pale and he looked absolutely exhausted.

"Ben, why don't you go to sleep now? You can use the coat as your pillow again."

"It's okay," Ben said and his voice was etched in fatigue. "I don't want to leave you by yourself."

"Don't worry about it," Riley soothed. "I need to make sure the fire's still going anyway." Riley picked up his coat and plumped it up behind Ben's head.

"Riley…" Ben murmured.

"Go to sleep. You need it."

Ben must have been wearier than he was letting on because he gave into the exhaustion. His eyes immediately began to droop. And that paleness. Riley hated that paleness.

"Goodnight Riley," Ben mumbled drowsily. Riley was still watching him anxiously. "Goodnight Ben."

When the man had fallen asleep, Riley stayed up, prodding the fire every once in a while or adding more wood and kindling. He didn't want to go to sleep. He was scared that if he did Ben would slip away without him even knowing.

-

Meh? Things pick up in the next chapter again!

Note: Do NOT pull out the object of a puncture wound in real life. Wait for medical help! The only excuse I have for Riley doing that is because they had no medical assistance so Riley needed to do it himself. Mostly for the plot though :P Thanks Jedi'Pirate Jaeh!

Title of chapter from Jack London's depressing story _To Build a Fire_.

Once again thanks Jaeh for the beta-ing and the medical and practical fact help and my sister for also beta-ing :D


	8. Promise

A/N: **Samps432, broadwaylover07, daisyduke80, White N Nerdy, Thuraya Known, fallen.leaves19, KCS, Pennstance Flinn, YukinaKid, Lo, Miss Fenway, Deewana Larki, ArodieltheElfofRohan, Solitaire42, Dillyn Breeze, Anna-for-Drake-Bell **and **Anonymous Eli **for the lovely reviews They always make me smile! Also a special thank you and cookie to **Solitaire42 **who reviewed the last chapter but I forgot to thank! Sorry for taking awhile but things have been kinda hectic.

-

When Ben woke up it took him a few moments to get a grip of for his surroundings. He was cold and uncomfortable. There was also an intense pain radiating from his abdomen.

He opened his eyes and saw Riley staring where the fire used to be. There were humungous bags under his bloodshot blue eyes and he was hugging himself tightly as if he was freezing cold.

_Oh, good heavens. _

"Riley?" Ben asked, as he straightened up.

Riley jerked out of his reverie and looked happily at his friend, hurriedly swiping at his face.

"Ben! You're up!" There was so much relief in his voice that Ben felt guilty he didn't wake up sooner.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked in concern.

"Of course I'm okay. Why shouldn't I be okay? You're the one with the gaping wound, why are you asking me-?"

"Riley," Ben prompted.

Riley sighed and rubbed his tired eyes again. "I'm just tired. Not a really great night."

The kid had been up all night in the Rocky Mountain wilderness with an injured friend zonked out next to him. Not to mention two possible lunatics were looking for them. Ben bit his lip guiltily. "Nothing happened, right?"

Riley shook his head. "I was scared that mountain lion would come back. Or even worse, David and Seth. And I kept hearing freaky noises."

Riley didn't want to admit the scariest part was shallow breathing next to him.

"Geez, Riley," Ben said softly. "I'm sorry you had to sit alone all night."

"Naw. You needed your sleep. I'm just glad you're up."

He rummaged around in his pack and found a granola bar.

"Here's a healthy nutritious breakfast for you, my friend."

Ben smiled. He _was _famished. "Thanks." He was about to take it then frowned and shot a questioning look at Riley. Did he have one for himself? Before Ben could even say anything Riley was holding up another granola bar. "See, I have my own. The evidence is right here!"

"Good. Breakfast of Champions. "

"You bet," Riley sighed. He munched into his granola bar. "Mmm… granola mixed with Aztec cave water. Good stuff."

Ben laughed a little at that. They continued to eat their measly food in silence, realizing it could be the last meal they might have in a long time.

"So…now what do we do?" Riley asked, clapping his hands together briskly.

"We…wait, I guess."

"Just wait?"

"Yeah."

"But it could be a long time before the search and rescue finds us! What about those Wilkinson guys? What are we gonna do for food or-"

"I don't know Riley!" Ben suddenly snapped, his frustration getting the better of him. Riley closed his mouth, looking a little hurt. There was another moment of silence.

"I'm sorry," Ben sighed.

"It's okay," Riley replied with a smile.

The treasure hunter thought he might go crazy if he had to just sit there and wait any longer. Benjamin Gates was not a passive man. So waiting for something to come to _him _instead of him going to find _it _was nearly unbearable. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Riley, can you keep the smoke going from the fire?"

"What, you mean you mean like a pow wow?" Riley asked listlessly.

"Sort of... the smoke could be a signal to tell someone where we are!"

Riley pursed his lips together and frowned. "I don't know if that's a good idea Ben. Remember, we also have Jason and Freddy looking for us."

"It's chance we need to take... otherwise who knows how long we'll be here."

Riley still looked uncertain. "Hmm, I don't know..."

"Can you think of a better idea?"

Riley finally relented. "No," he sighed. He took his coat and fanned the smoking remains of the fire.

"But until we're found... what do we do?" Riley hesitantly asked again.

"We'll just have to make do with what we have," Ben mumbled. Riley glanced sidelong at him.

"Maybe this won't be so bad. It'll be like Tom Hanks in _Castaway._"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You're Tom Hanks and I'm the volleyball."

"The volleyball's name is Wilson."

"Right…"

Riley looked upward at the sky. It was thankfully clear at the moment, without a sign of rain. He finished eating his granola bar and stuffed the wrapping into his pocket. After fanning the fire one more time he sighed and leaned back against the tree.

His body was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open. During the night he had only managed to get a few minutes of sleep. It had been one of the worst nights in his life. Riley shuddered and looked down at his scraped up arms and torn clothes. He curled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around himself before closing his eyes.

"Riley, are you okay?" he heard Ben ask quietly. Riley nodded mutely and cracked an eye open at his friend. "Mmhmm. Just tired, Ben. That's all."

Ben smiled sadly at him. "That's understandable. You look like you've been hit by a truck."

"No need to get insulting…"

"You know what I mean," Ben said, rolling his eyes. "You should get some sleep."

Riley sighed and shook his head silently.

"Riley…"

Again, Riley shook his head, drawing his body closer to himself.

"Nothing's gonna happen. I'm right here, okay?"

That managed to convince Riley somewhat. The techie finally conceded with a quiet, "okay" and put his head in his arms before closing his blue eyes. Ben watched with a smile as he began to doze off. _Good. The kid needs it_, Ben thought. He sighed, the guilt within him sharpening acutely. _There's a way out of this. There has to be. _

-

"I don't care. I'm going to kill them! I'm going to kill both of them," David screamed, pacing around agitatedly.

Seth slowly stroked his beard, looking at his cousin as if he'd seen him behave that way a hundred times before. "You're having one of your fits again. You need to control yourself."

David pounded his fist against the tree. "They made me look stupid! Nobody makes an idiot of out me!"

"We can't kill them yet. We still need to get the treasure. "

"Let me just kill the pipsqueak then! I want to wring his little neck!"

Seth shrugged carelessly and looked around. "After we find the treasure you can do whatever you want to him. I don't care. All we need to do is to get rid of the evidence afterward."

His cousin didn't look satisfied with this answer, and David's hands flexed tensely

"But-"

"Oh, don't worry. You'll have your fun, David…" He pointed to a thin flume of smoke rising into the sky from the trees. "Sooner than you think."

David grinned insanely and pressed his thumb on an ant scampering up the tree. "Squish."

-

Ben watched as his friend jerked awake, startled by something in his own head. He looked around fearfully until blue eyes landed on the treasure hunter, and his demeanor immediately relaxed.

"How long was I out for?" Riley yawned, figuring it had to be at least an hour or so.

"About twenty minutes," Ben estimated.

"What?!" Riley groaned and tensely rubbed his face. "This _sucks_!"

"I'm sorry, buddy," Ben said sympathetically. "Don't worry, you'll catch up on your sleep soon."

Riley shrugged. "Yeah…well…" Riley stopped speaking and looked up quickly.

"What is it?" Ben asked with a frown. Riley stood up.

"Ben," he said firmly. "Stay there."

"Uh, I don't have much of a choice?" Ben said, his eyebrow raising.

"I know, I just always wanted to say that," Riley smirked as he began to walk away.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

"I want to check something out."

"Come back here this instant!"

"SHH!" Riley held up a finger, straining his ears.

_Don't let it be the mountain lion again_, Riley thought miserably.

Then his heart skipped a beat and he froze. Trembling, he knelt down to obscure himself from view. The Wilkinsons were heading right toward them. _Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!_ Riley cursed in his head and scrambled backwards. It was what he and Ben feared would happen. The smoke had attracted attention to themselves, but not from the people they hoped.

Keeping low to the ground, Riley hurried back to where Ben was giving him a bemused expression. They only had a few moments before they were in serious trouble.

"Get up!" Riley whispered in panic, pulling on Ben's arm.

"Riley what-

"David and Seth found us. We need to get out of here."

Ben cursed and attempted to stand but his injuries got the better of him.

"Here," Riley muttered and slung Ben's arm over his shoulder. Then they both staggered upright and began to run. They had hardly gone more than a few yards when Ben groaned and shuddered, sinking back to the ground.

"Ben!" Riley urged frantically.

"You have to run," Ben mumbled to him.

"No way. I'm not leaving you alone with those…psychos!"

"I can handle myself." Ben mentally cringed as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Um, reality check. You were impaled by a piece of wood. There's not a chance I'm leaving you in this condition."

"Riley…" Ben was desperately trying get Riley away from him. "These guys are _dangerous_. They killed people. Sadusky showed me reports. They could hurt you too!"

"I don't care," Riley persisted stubbornly. "I have nowhere to go anyway. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you."

"Dammit Riley, I'm ordering you to get out of here!" hissed Ben.

"Yeah, well make me," Riley snapped and he sat down on the rock and crossed his arms.

Ben was beginning to panic. "Riley, _please_-"

"It's too late Ben," Riley pointed out. "They're already here."

-

Ben glared at the men approaching them. He placed Riley's arm around his own shoulder again. "Help me stand up," he said quietly. Wordlessly, Riley helped his friend to his feet. He knew that the treasure hunter didn't want to be caught in a helpless state. Ben wanted to be prepared for these men.

"Well, look what we found," Seth sneered as he approached them. He stopped and looked them over, whistling in amazement. "You probably would have been better off sticking with us."

"Leave us alone!" Riley shouted. "I am so sick of you guys!"

It was then that Seth noted how heavily Ben was leaning on Riley. The man was pale and his breathing was harsher than normal.

"What's wrong with you?" Seth said, raising an eyebrow. Ben's eyes only continued to flash fiercely at the men.

"What, did you hurt yourself?" David taunted, stepping closer. "This is great. You have to come with us now. There's nothing you can do about it either in your state."

Ben glared at the man, looking like a cornered animal. They were right, of course. What else could he do? He could barely even remain standing.

"Be careful, David," Seth chuckled. "Don't taunt him too much."

Riley felt Ben tighten his grip around him but he wasn't sure if it was because of his injuries or not.

"Look, Gates, it's quite simple. You help us; we might give you a quick death."

"You're both sick. I'm not going to help either of you," Ben growled.

"We thought you might say that," Seth said in a quiet, dangerous voice. He nodded to his cousin. David suddenly moved forward and roughly grabbed Riley.

"Ben!" Riley cried as he was yanked out of Ben's grip.

"Riley!" Ben yelled hoarsely. He felt his knees beginning to buckle but he forced himself to remain standing. He attempted to lurch forward but Seth caught his arms and held him back.

"You brought this upon him," Seth sighed. It's didn't take much effort to restrain Ben because of his injuries.

David began to forcibly drag Riley over to the water's edge. Realizing the man's intent, Riley stared to struggle fiercely against him. He put up valiant fight, digging his feet into the ground and trying to shove the man away from himself.

"Get your filthy hands _off of him_!!" Ben roared, with as much strength as he could muster despite the pain in his torso. There wasn't much else he could do. Seth had released Ben once David was out of range and was just standing there with his arms crossed, watching the events transpire with a smirk on his face.

Riley meanwhile was thrashing about for all he was worth. He actually managed to break free from the iron grip two or three times. But each time David seized him aggressively and continued to yank him toward the water.

"Let go of me!" Riley shouted angrily as he fought back in vain. "I don't appreciate being manhandled!"

"Oh, then I'm sure you won't appreciate _this_."

Then in a sudden motion he grabbed Riley's neck and forced him into the water. The techie writhed, trying frantically to break free but he was held under mercilessly.

"No! Stop! _Stop_!" Ben shouted, desperately feeling more helpless than he ever had. He had somehow forced himself to stagger a few steps forward despite the nearly unbearable pain in his body.

Riley's struggling was beginning to weaken. David pulled him back out and allowed him to sputter and choke as he fruitlessly tried to squirm away.

"What's the matter? Run out of snappy things to say?" David taunted maliciously. Then he forced Riley back under again, hands tightening around his neck.

"STOP!" The cry tore from Ben's throat and he fell to one knee, unable to stand any longer. "I'll play your game, okay?! Leave him out! Please, just leave him out of this!"

Seth nodded at David. The man yanked Riley out of the water. He didn't even give him time to recover. While Riley coughed and gasped he grabbed him by the collar and literally dragged him across the across the ground. Then he threw him down in a heap in front of Ben. As soon as he was released, Riley curled himself up into a shivering ball. David gave him a kick for good measure.

"There's your friend, Gates. Hopefully he's not too weak to help you walk."

Fighting back his raging emotions and the pain in his body, Ben leaned over his shuddering and gasping friend. He ignored the other men's cold stares as he gently turned Riley onto his back.

Riley continued to splutter and retch miserably. Ben brushed back Riley's damp hair, blinking hard. "Easy, buddy. You're okay. You're okay."

Finally Riley stopped coughing up water, and was taking chest heaving breaths. Ben sat him up and gently rubbed his shaking back.

"N-No fair, I j-just got dry t-too," Riley mumbled, still quivering.

"Both of you get up."

Ben cast them a glacial stare. Riley didn't even look at Seth and continued to gaze at the ground. He was still shuddering violently and breathing hard.

"Give him another minute at least," Ben snapped, keeping an arm protectively around Riley's shoulder. David pulled the gun on them and clicked it back.

"Now."

Ben exhaled sharply, the fury inside of him rearing back like an animal ready to strike. Then, he heard a pitiful moan from Riley and he knew there wasn't much of a choice. He gently nudged his friend.

"Can you stand?"

Riley nodded mutely as his breathing finally evened out. "Yeah. Um," he cleared his throat. "The real question here is if you can stand."

"I'll manage."

"Here, Ben." Riley put Ben's arm over his shoulder and they both staggered upright. Ben grimaced and flinched, the now familiar pain going through him.

"Are you going to be okay…with moving around with those injuries?" Riley muttered breathlessly.

"Gonna have to be…" Ben replied quietly.

-

Ben had no intention of taking the Wilkinsons to the cave. They were so close already, but he knew as soon as he showed them where it was…Ben repressed a shudder. They would kill both him and Riley and he would _not _allow that to happen. Then there was the way they kept using Riley. If they kept it up, Riley could be _seriously _hurt as a means of persuasion. They wouldn't kill him yet…Riley was the key motivator to keep Ben going. Seth was smart enough to know that if Riley died Ben would never agree to anything.

Ben felt frustration and helplessness wash over him. What could he do for his friend now that he was nearly incapacitated? He hated how David seemed to get sick pleasure from hurting his friend. Ben was beginning to realize the man was more unstable than he originally thought.

The need to watch out for his friend was the only thing that kept Ben walking. He felt his body scream in protest at him with every step he took. Riley had remained silent the entire time, concentrating on holding his friend upright. But as Ben began to stumble more and more frequently he turned to the Wilkinsons.

"We need to rest. He can't keep going this pace."

Seth looked at the pale face of the treasure hunter and jerked his head at them. "This'll be quick. Enough to recharge, and then we'll keep moving."

Riley swallowed and nodded, helping Ben lower himself to the ground. Ben let out a shuddering breath and wiped some of the sweat from his face.

"How're you doing, Ben?" Riley asked worriedly.

"Just a little tired…" Ben mumbled. His eyelids were drooping from fatigue. Riley nodded and watched his friend slip into a light sleep.

This whole thing was insane. Ben could barely stand up straight and now he was being forced to walk. Riley knew Ben was trying to buy as much time as he could for them. People had to be searching for them by now….

He sighed and slowly lowered himself onto the ground next to Ben. Every part of him was aching, and his exhaustion was beginning to catch up. Yet he knew it was nothing compared to what Ben was experiencing.

Now that Riley was sitting down he felt his body still reacting to the dunking in the river. Holding up his hands in front of his face, he saw they were trembling slightly. Weird. A tremor ran through him when he remembered the darkness and the iron grip choking him… but he pushed the thoughts away. He had to concentrate on the present.

The techie turned his attention back to his zonked out friend. Ben coughed quietly in his sleep. Ben needed water. It seemed like the last thing either of them needed, due to recent near-drowning events. _Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink_, the techie thought dully.

Riley reached into his pack and pulled out a canteen. There wasn't much left but it would have to do. Suddenly, the canteen was smacked from his hand and clattered to the ground. Riley groaned and went for it. His fingers curled around the plastic just as a heel was brought sharply down on his hand.

It took all of Riley's self control not to scream. The heel didn't remove itself.

"Ben needs it, David," Riley explained through gritted teeth. "He's not going to be much use to you if he dies of dehydration."

David snorted and ground his foot harder into Riley's hand. Riley would not give the man the satisfaction of making a sound.

David knelt down and smiled evilly at Riley.

"Please take your shoe off my hand," Riley said nicely. David slapped Riley across the face. For a split second Riley closed his eyes, feeling a surge of fury boil forward then recede.

"Please-remove-your-shoe-from-the-vicinity-of-my-hand," Riley ground out. David dug his heel further into his hand and Riley couldn't prevent a gasp of pain.

He roughly grabbed Riley's chin forcing him to look at him.

"Let go," Riley hissed angrily. He could hardly think and his hand may as well have been on fire.

"You think you're so bright, don't you? That you can worm your way out of anything? Well, Ben can't always protect you."

"I-don't…_need _Ben to protect me," Riley growled and angrily shoved David's hand away from his face with his free arm.

David smirked. "From where I'm standing it looks like you do." He ground his boot heel further into Riley's hand. Riley squeezed his eyes closed but didn't make a sound.

Frustrated that he wasn't making Riley squirm, David slapped him one more time in the face. He removed his boot and spat at Riley. "Take your stupid canteen. Won't do either of you much good anyway."

David retreated back to where his cousin was, sitting down and glaring at him. Riley slowly looked at his left hand and had to take a few deep breaths. The pain only seemed to intensify when he saw how red and swollen his hand was. He couldn't even curl up his fingers the whole way.

Cradling his hand to his chest, he took the canteen he sidled his way over to Ben. He gently nudged him. Ben stirred and opened his eyes. He blinked weakly at Riley.

"Here Ben. Drink some of this." Riley muttered, his hand screaming in pain.

Ben looked vaguely at the water and his eyes widened when he saw Riley's hand.

"Riley," Ben said softly, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. "What the hell happened to your hand?"

"Nothing," Riley said quickly but Ben took it gently to inspect it. Riley bit back a whimper. The skin was angry and red. It looked strangely dislocated. "Geez, Riley…it looks like it's broken!" Ben exclaimed angrily.

"It was an accident. I fell." Riley mumbled.

Ben's eyes found Riley's face and the fresh bruise forming on his cheek.

"David did this," Ben growled. Slow fury began to creep over his features.

"Please don't worry about it, Ben," Riley whispered urgently.

"Riley-"

"Ben, if you say anything to that nut job, it'll make things worse," Riley pleaded. "Forget it. Drink the water."

Ben narrowed his eyes and glared at David over Riley's shoulder. He turned back to Riley who was holding up the canteen imploringly.

"You drink some first." Ben said.

"Ben, you need it more than I do. And haven't we been over this before?"

"I want to see you drink some water, otherwise I won't have any myself."

Riley shook his head in exasperation but brought the canteen to his lips and took a quick sip. "There, see? I'm like a camel. Drink some water."

Ben quirked a smile and took the canteen from Riley. His hands shakily closed around the canteen and he took a drink.

"Okay?" Riley smiled. Ben nodded and gave him a tired smile.

"Alright, since you had your little break and refreshments, both of you get up now," came the now all too familiar voice of Seth. Ben slowly raised his eyes and saw Seth above them with David a few paces back, an evil grin on his face.

"I don't want either of you touching my friend again," he said icily.

"Aw, you'd like that, wouldn't you? But it's not gonna happen," David goaded.

Ben actually pushed himself up and got to his feet. "Stay. Away."

"Well, that would be impressive if it wasn't for the fact…" He took a step forward and slammed Ben in the torso. The treasure hunter doubled over and sank back to the ground, clutching his stomach. "…I can do that so easily."

Riley was already on his feet and surged forward. Seth caught him by the collar and backed him up until he slammed Riley into a nearby tree. "Don't do anything you'll regret, Poole!" he snarled. He threw Riley to the ground with a cruel vigor.

"Leave us alone!" Riley shouted furiously up at him. "What good will beating the crap out of us do for you?! You need Ben to show you where the damn treasure is, and he's already hurt!"

"Oh, don't worry, he'll be alive. You should be more worried for your own safety," Seth grinned sadistically and knelt down in front of him. "My cousin here is looking forward to killing you. Should be interesting."

Ben had forced himself up onto his elbow, trying to gain control of his breathing. He lifted his head to see his friend on the ground with Seth leaning menacingly over him. It was an alarming, borderline terrifying sight, if it wasn't for the fact Riley was shouting defiantly up at Seth.

"The authorities are going to know something is going on," Riley growled. "And you're going to be thrown in jail again. You should have just…made your life when you had the chance."

"Now you're talking like you have the upper hand? As if you're better than me?"

Riley laughed shortly. "You think you have everything under control here?! Let me tell you something, from what I've seen it's _never _turned out great for the bad guys! You'll be caught one way or another."

"You're a _hacker _and as far as I'm concerned you're nothing but dirt to me. "If you knew some of the things I've done, you wouldn't be talking to me like that"

"Well," said Riley after a moment. "A lot of good those things did you because from what I remember you were thrown into prison."

Seth was staring coldly at Riley who met his gaze unflinchingly, his jaw set. Ben had tensed as he looked quickly between them.

"You're worthless," Seth hissed. "Just a deadweight, and you'll always be a good-for-nothing sidekick."

Then with alarming swiftness he harshly struck Riley across his face. Riley's head snapped to the side but he didn't even react to it.

Seth had turned and walked away without even a backwards glance, motioning for his cousin to follow him. Ben shouted a tirade of surprisingly colorful words after him. He felt himself nearly shaking with anger.

"Didn't know you had such a big vocabulary," Riley said with a thin wavering smile. A fresh black and blue mark was quickly forming on his already bruised face. Ben felt worse than ever about slapping Riley when they were stuck in the cave. It had been necessary but he hated that he had to do it.

Ben knew Riley was trying to be chipper and brush it off like it was nothing. But he saw tears forming behind his blue eyes.

Riley had taken many blows since this whole thing began, and most were worse than that slap. But for some reason this one had shaken him.

Ben wasn't sure why. Maybe it had all just become too much.

Riley felt silent tears of humiliation, anger and frustration fall from his eyes and he tried to quickly brush them away but he knew Ben had already seen his distress. The treasure hunter scooted closer to him, wincing as he did so.

"Oh…don't cry, Riley," Ben said sadly. He had only seen his friend cry once before in the Treasure Room…but those were tears of joy. Now Riley was angrily swiping at the silent tears falling down his cheeks. Ben didn't really know what to say.

Riley sniffled and wiped away his tears with the back of his arm. Ben reached over and put his arm around Riley, gently squeezing his shoulder.

"It's okay," Ben murmured. "Don't cry."

Riley let out a shuddering sigh and stared wordlessly at surrounding trees.

"I know it looks bad right now, Riley. I know you're scared. But I promise you, it's going to be fine."

"How's everything going to be fine," Riley said, his voice breaking. "We're in the middle of nowhere…you're pretty much mortally injured and we have two psychopaths breathing down our necks!"

Ben gave him an encouraging smile. "Riley, you trust me, right?"

"Yes," Riley sniffed. Ben gently brushed at his tears with his knuckles.

"I promise, you'll be okay."

Riley looked at him sharply. "'We', Ben. Both of us. We both have to be okay. Not just me."

"Ri…something may happen to me. But I'll do everything I can to make sure you get out of this okay."

"No, B-Ben," Riley looked scared as he looked at his friend. He tugged at his arm. "Promise me that both of us will be okay."

"Riley-"

"Promise me!" Riley pleaded, desperation in his blue eyes. Ben took a deep breath.

"I promise Riley. We'll both be all right."

Satisfied, Riley nodded. "Okay." He sniveled again and wiped his eyes a final time with his sleeve.

Ben repressed a sigh and watched as David and Seth get ready to go again. It was a promise he hoped he could keep.

-

A/N: Meh Well, we knew they couldn't be safe for that long. I know it's kind of the same thing as the other chapters… but things should be happening soon.

I'm a bit emotional right now because I reread the last chapter of Miss Fenway's depressing story while listening to the song "The Letter That Never Came," by Thomas Newman. I do NOT recommend doing this.

Depressingness aside, go vote on my poll that I obviously had too much fun making! Also, if anyone noticed I try to my make my avatar correspond to what's happening in the chapter of this story :P


	9. The Status Quo

A/N: I love you guys XD Thanks a bunch to **KCS, Solitaire42, Anna-Lisa-for-Drake-Bell, Damion Starr, WorldofWarcraftFanatic16, Thuraya Known, Samps432, broadwaylover07, 19, kutlessgurl90, Dillyn Breeze, Miss Fenway, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh, Masterarcher, Anonymous Eli, White N Nerdy, smileyaili **and **ArodieltheElfofRohan, HeavenRose, .lies, Flicka **and **AnnaBananaPhone, Elyy2k, Autumnnights and Lastchancetobreathe **for your great reviews!! (Hyperventilates and passes out) Just imagine your name in a golden plaque up on a wall, cuz that's how awesome you all are!

I'm really sorry for taking so long to update ;( College has been just a TAD crazy. Another exuse- er- reason for taking so long is that I really don't like this chapter. At all. My beta can attest to that. It bothers me. It's basically just another filler chapter and it doesn't advance the plot at all. I know authors aren't supposed to say things like that about their writing….and I really don't want to post but, I guess posting something s better then nothing.

I decided to put it up on Christmas Eve for a Christmas present to y'all!! Once, again thanks for being patient! (big hugs!) Enjoy the brotherly fluff ^^

Warnings: Some language… and some violence.

_-_

Being in the middle of the nowhere can make a person lose their sense of time. After a while the trees and the sky blur together and the fact that there is no civilization for miles weighs heavily on the mind. Sometimes this can be a comforting thought, a relaxing thing to contemplate. Being away from the constraints of society, the work and noise. For example, when you're on a camping trip. Not when you're kidnapped and held at gunpoint by two lunatics, and are also in desperate need of medical attention.

The pain was so bad Ben could barely concentrate on anything, but he had to force himself to keep moving. The injured shoulder along with his arm had nearly gone completely numb. Not good. His ribs hurt. God, he really wished everything would stop _hurting_. The only fleeting relief was when his thoughts strayed to Abigail, which they often did.

Did she discover what had happened? Did his parents? Was the baby okay? Of course the baby was okay. The baby was fine when he left, and she would continue to be fine. The questions and anxieties rolled repeatedly over in his mind like clothes in a spin cycle. A sudden bought of vertigo took hold of him and the treasure hunter leaned against his crutch. The happened often but Riley never complained, even the times when Ben leaned so heavily that Riley stumbled and strained to hold his friend upright. In fact, whenever he talked it was only to distract Ben from the pain.

If it wasn't for Riley's quiet chatter Ben might have already lost his mind. _Which is strange because usually it's Riley's motor mouth that drives me crazy_.

"You know what would be great? If that mountain lion came back to eat David and Seth for us." Riley was saying.

"That would be ideal," Ben chuckled weakly.

"Do you think anyone's looking for us?" Riley continued. "I mean, we've been gone for a day already. I really hope someone's looking for us."

"Don't worry Riley, they are." Ben answered hoarsely. He suddenly wavered and stopped walking. Riley glanced at him in concern. A harsh coughing fit suddenly seized him, causing him to double over in pain.

"Ben!" Riley cried, craning his head as best he could with Ben's arm slung around his neck. "Are you okay!?"

Ben nodded even as the painful-sounding coughs wracked his body. Ben's free arm wrapped over his midsection as if trying to hold in his own pain. Riley supported him, one hand patting his friend's shuddering back. Finally the coughing stopped. Ben remained in his clenched position for a few more moments as he caught his breath. Then he turned hismisted over eyes to Riley. "Ow," he wheezed.

"Ben?" Riley asked again, his stomach clenching with worry. "You okay?" He heard Ben's ragged breathing in his ear and fought to hold him up.

"Riley," Ben muttered. "I need to sit down."

Fear filled Riley's chest as he carefully helped his friend sit down on the ground. There were no trees nearby to lean on; they were in a clearing from the seemingly endless forest.

"Why the hell are you two stopping?!" barked the hated voice of Seth. Riley raised his eyes up to the man and managed to hold his glare for a moment.

"He's really hurt right now, okay!?" Riley snapped, having just about enough of the bullying. "Just give us a minute to see what's wrong." Without waiting for a reply he turned back to his friend who was hunched in on himself from the pain.

Ben's face was ashen and he looked nauseous. Ben groaned and suddenly doubled over, retching onto the ground. Riley let out a violent exclamation and supported Ben as best he could. He felt himself shaking slightly. The pain must have been excruciating if it was bad enough to make him throw up.

"Ben, can I see the injury again?"

Ben surprisingly didn't protest and simply nodded. His lack of responsiveness worried Riley. The older man managed to partially lift his sweater for Riley to inspect the damage.

Riley made a small noise in the back of his throat.

The injury was internal. Riley wasn't sure how he knew but he did. The bleeding had stopped but there was strange discoloration to the skin around it. There could have been a million things wrong, a rib punctured the lung or blunt trauma to the organs…and Riley couldn't do anything about any of them.

"Ben," Riley said shakily. "You can't move anymore. This was a mistake. You shouldn't have moved."

"N-Not much of a choice," Ben wheezed. He let out particularly ragged sounding cough. Riley grimaced. "That sounds terrible." Ben shrugged weakly, a bead of sweat falling from his face to the ground. Riley turned around and looked desperately at their captors who glared at them indifferently. He felt nothing but undiluted anger toward them but managed to keep his voice steady.

"He needs more water," Riley stated, staring Seth directly in the eyes. The man merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Please, you still need him to find the treasure right?"

Seth sighed and rolled his eyes. "David. Get the man some water. Make it quick. "

"With pleasure," David snarled as he pulled out a canteen. He started toward Ben and looked like he had every intention of forcing the liquid down the man's throat. Riley jumped up and stood in front of him.

"Give it to me," the techie said as firmly as he could, although he couldn't help that his hand trembled slightly. David shoved him roughly in the chest. "I don't take orders from a pansy like you. "

"Give me the damn water," Riley said, his hand still outstretched. David laughed shortly. "What, you want me to break the other one?"

"Riley," Ben's voice suddenly rasped. "Don't. Leave it. I'm fine."

"B-But-"

"I'm fine." Ben said in a stronger voice. Then he turned his glazed eyes to the man and still managed to gather up an icy glare.

"You bastards better leave my friend alone. He has nothing to do with this. And you can't expect to get away with this, the search and rescue probably right on our tail."

"Which is why we better be near the treasure," Seth's pitiless voice interrupted. "Otherwise, we'll leave your bodies out here for the animals."

"I told you," Ben groaned. "It's along the river, but the exact location has always been unknown."

"Well you better _figure it out_," Seth snarled. A rough shove to the injured shoulder by David nearly made Ben scream.

"Stop it!" Riley shouted and sprang forward only to be pushed backwards. "Stop hurting him okay!? It's not going to do you any good!"

"Riley, don't," Ben protested hoarsely.

"You're right," David grinned, standing uncomfortably close to him and cracked his knuckles. Riley backed away from the larger man but managed to hold onto a resolved glare.

"Hey!" Ben shouted desperately from his position on the ground. "Leave him the hell _alone_!"

Riley flinched back, expecting a punch to the face but instead David grabbed him by the forearm. The techie went rigid in place, his eyes narrowing.

"Get. Your. Hand. Off. Of. Me."

David yanked Riley forward causing him to stagger. The young man's reaction was explosive. He rammed himself into his attacker causing him to stumble backward and loosen his grip.

"Stay away from me!" he warned, although he couldn't prevent his voice from trembling this time. He continued to back up even as David advanced toward him again. Riley squeezed his eyes closed as the man raised his fist.

There was a sudden _crack _and David cried out, and his hands whipped to his face. Riley looked around wildly until his eyes landed on Ben. His friend was crouched down one of the many stone scattered on the ground.

"Nice shot," Riley complimented shakily.

"Thanks," Ben replied, never taking his eyes off David. The man removed his hands from his face and looked at his hand to make sure blood wasn't drawn. Riley cast a quick look at Seth who seemed only impatient by the turn of events. He seemed to know that even in their combined efforts Ben and Riley couldn't overpower them.

"Did you just throw a _rock _at me?"

"Yup," Ben said with false cheer. "What're gonna do about it?"

David turned his attention to Ben, looming over him. "Gates, by the time I'm through with you-"

Things may have gotten much, much uglier if right at that moment there wasn't a faint rumbling sound. It seemed to reverberate through the entire mountainside.

"What is that?" Riley gasped.

"It's a helicopter," Ben muttered. Riley's eyes widened. They all knew it was the rescue copter. A wild notion seized Riley. Maybe he could somehow get its attention without Seth or David noticing… but before he could put his barely thought-out plan into action, a sharp yank on his collar stopped him in his tracks. So much for that idea.

"Don't even _think _about it," David hissed in his ear.

"Get them back into the trees." Seth snapped. "They could see us out here."

David bodily hauled Riley backwards, even as the young man struggled**. **Riley glanced over to see Ben in a similar predicament at the hands of Seth. The two friends were shoved roughly back under the trees.

As the sound of the helicopter faded, Riley began to panic. What if it was the last chance for escape? He needed to _do _something… Ben was practically fainting on his feet and he needed medical attention _soon_. Once again the young man fruitlessly attempted to free himself.

The grip around Riley tightened painfully. "Don't pull any of your little tricks, hmm?"

"I would stop struggling," Seth said in his infuriatingly lazy way. "Unless you want us to bind you, and I don't think you want that."

Riley opened his mouth to say something but Ben cut in. "Riley, listen to him."

"Even your friend is telling you to stop. Now, why don't you listen to him?"

"Why don't you go burn in hell," Riley suggested, as their hopes of escape drained before their ears.

A sudden explosive pain sent Riley crashing to the ground. Riley moaned trying to shake the sudden unwelcome colors that burst to the forefront of his vision. Someone, almost positively David, cruelly grabbed Riley's hurt hand and began to bend it backwards. Riley didn't want to make a sound but the grip was unrelenting. He heard Ben shouting something. David continued to twist his hand, attempting to entice a scream from him. Riley couldn't help it; a cry of pain finally ripped from his throat.

David smirked. "I knew I'd get that scream eventually." He leaned dangerously close to the agonized young man, not releasing his grip.

"I would _love _to just kill you right now, but I can't. So I'll just settle for making your life a living hell."

Riley trembled but David didn't do anything else. He shoved Riley back to the ground and stood up, brushing himself off, giving Riley a cruel smile. "Just you wait."

Riley attempted to clear the fog away from his vision when he felt a hand on his arm. Immediately he flinched away but then heard Ben's voice asking him if he was okay. _No I'm okay_, was what he wanted to say. _Our only possibility of escape is gone and you're… really hurt. _He opened his eyes to see his friend leaning over him, visibly shaken.

"Oh Riley…what did he do…" Ben's sharp eyes scanned over Riley's bruised face. Blood was trickled down the side of Riley's head. _That monster! _Ben reached out a trembling hand to brush back Riley's hair to see where the bump started. Then he pulled it back, thinking better of it**.** Ben swallowed hard, repressing the rage inside of him.

"Let me see that hand again," Ben muttered as he gently took Riley's arm. He was worried it had become dislocated or something.

"Ow. Ow. OW!" Riley hissed yanking his arm away as Ben held onto a particularly sore spot.

"Sorry," Ben apologized. "But seriously, that hand looks-"

"Gruesome. Yeah I know."

"If you girls are done," Seth growled, "We're stopping here. The search and rescue are already overhead and I don't want them to risk seeing us."

Ben and Riley were more than happy to oblige. "Ah, that's a bummer." Riley smirked.

"Don't get too comfortable," David pointed out menacingly. Riley gulped. He was getting pretty tired of being menaced.

"Wait, we're staying here for the night?" Ben asked suddenly. Riley looked over at him, feeling the color leave his face. That definitely did _not _sound appealing. Something tightened unpleasantly in his chest.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

"B-But it'll get dark," Riley protested as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So?" David sneered.

"So, can't we just make a fire or something? It's gonna get cold here at night."

"And risk attention being drawn to us? I don't think so!" Seth said coldly. Riley swallowed. He didn't want to sit through another night like the last. At least then there had been a bright fire. And no Wilkinsons. Now it would be completely dark in the middle of the wilderness. Like most people on the planet he never really held a fondness for darkness, but he'd deal with it if necessary. But now his old fears were creeping back under his skin, sending shivers through him. Bad things happen in the dark.

"But-" Riley started.

"Riley," Ben said softly. "It'll be okay."

Riley shuddered and hoped beyond hope that his friends reassurances would turn out to be true.

_-_

The pain was not the only thing bothering them now. Hunger gnawed in their stomachs and fatigue weighed like a heavy curtain. Especially Riley. After getting such a short amount of sleep the night before he was literally struggling to keep his eyes open. Ben stayed awake however, his eyes never leaving the two men who held them captive in the middle of the wilderness.

He looked over at his friend. Riley hummed to himself, tracing designs on the ground with a stick. Ben looked back up. Neither of the men seemed to be paying attention to their captives. They were eating and Ben figured they wouldn't get any food anytime soon. He was proven wrong when Seth threw something at him. Ben winced as it hit him in face. His reflexives were frustratingly slow at the moment.

"Eat that Gates. We need to keep you alive until you find the treasure."

"What about Riley?" Ben protested.

David grinned evilly. "Hey, either take that or if you _really _want I can give him some food."

Ben shuddered and glared at the man. "You people are sick and twisted."

"Are we?" Seth hissed. "We're finding this treasure in any way we can. That's what you did, right? You're slate isn't completely clean either."

"But he never killed anyone," Riley had been silent for a while but now spoke up in a trembling voice.

"You're a driven man Gates. I think you'd be surprised what you're capable of. If the opportunity presented itself."

Ben glared at the men, but remained silent.

"Eat that. And enjoy it. It might be your last meal."

-

After what seemed like hours later, the first hint of nighttime finally began to show itself in the sky. Riley was still hunched over; he hadn't stopped tracing shapes in soft earth. The Wilkinsons sat a couple of yards away, thankfully not too close.

"Riley," Ben whispered, almost directly next to his ear.

"What Ben. I'm practicing my artistic endeavors."

"Listen. When the opportunity comes I want you to run."

"Ben, we've been over this-"

"No. Listen to me. If you follow the river downstream you'll eventually get to the foot of the mountain and the road."

Riley sighed with exaggerated patience. "If I leave, you're gonna die. Seriously, you wouldn't last two seconds."

"And if you stay we both might die."

"The key word there is 'might'." Riley pointed out. "Now, next time you come up with a plan, make sure it's with both of use getting out alive. Otherwise I'm not interested." Riley shook his head. "What happened to the 'silver-lining' Ben Gates that I knew and loved? Besides, you promised me."

"Sorry, but it's kind of hard to stay positive in this situation." Ben sighed.

Riley suddenly lowered his voice so it was barely audible. He leaned closer to Ben, nearly putting his head on his shoulder. "Just tell them Ben. Tell the where the cave is."

"No. I've thought about it. The sooner I do, the sooner they'll kill both of us. They won't need us anymore." Ben groaned and brought a hand to his face. "This is all my fault. I just feel so helpless."

Riley sighed in frustration, snapping the stick he was using to make designs with.

"Ben, we've been on the brink of death many times before and you've always been 'yeah we'll get out, no biggie.' It's _my _job to think everyone's gonna die."

That caused Ben to chuckle and let out a dry cough. "You're right. I'm very sorry Riley."

"Apology accepted," Riley grinned and leaned back on the tree next to Ben. He looked upward at the sky. The sun was already setting and Riley may have enjoyed it if it wasn't for the other two men nearby.

Riley seemed in deep contemplation for a few moments, then he spoke up again. "When we get out of this, I'm definitely writing another book about it." He looked at Ben. "Which you will definitely read. Maybe it will help you find another treasure!"

"Riley-" Ben began.

"In fact, I still need to write a book about our adventures in Cibola. I've always held off on it though because of the, you know, ahem, _illegal_ aspects but I think I can work around -"

"Riley, " Ben cut in again "About your book…" He sighed, not wanting to bring this up. But now was as good a time as any he supposed. "I never really read…"

"I know Ben."

"…it…w-what?" Ben blinked at Riley.

"It's okay. I know." Riley gave him a small smile.

"How…?"

"Well, it wasn't that hard to figure out. You never engaged in conversations about it, you never answered my specific questions on what you thought… you _still _looked so guilty every time it was brought up."

"Riley, I'm really…really sorry," Ben said lamely.

"Ben, it's just a book and I think we have more pressing matters to worry about right now…"

"No," Ben muttered. "It's what I did to try and bury my guilt. I knew how important it was to you. And I shouldn't have just… blown something off that meant so much to you. I lied to you, Riley. And I really hate that I did that… I really do. Once again, I'm sorry."

"That means a lot Ben," Riley said sincerely. "Thank you." Then he smiled again. "Another apology accepted. But don't worry about it. Just work on staying alive."

"Been doing that for a while."

"Good. Make sure to keep it up."

-

Night finally fell around across the mountain range. So many fears and anxieties surfaced and Riley wished more then ever for a fire.

"I really hate the dark," Riley mumbled, his eyes glazed over with fatigue. Ben nodded sympathetically. Riley began to crawl away, and Ben sat up with a start. "Where are you going?" he whispered.

"Uh, I just need to find a branch or something… I'd feel safer with a weapon…." There was some shuffling around and the sound of wood cracking, then a mumbled curse. "Ow. No fair, stupid brach. This ones good… but kind of…bigish." He yawned deeply. "Maybe I'll just… sleep here…"

"Riley?" Ben raised his voice anxiously. He could barely make out the outline of his friend sitting there. He didn't like idea of Riley sleeping too far away.

Ben sighed and kept a watchful as Riley began to nod off to sleep, a branch in one hand. Ben's dark eyes shifted over to the two Wilkinsons. He let his eyes adjust to the dark and was finally able to see in more detail. Seth lay on his side apparently asleep, but who knew if he actually was. David however was up, scraping a stick with a small yet sharp pocket knife. Ben grimaced. Of course.

David locked his gaze and a smirk played on his face and his eyes turned to Riley who was dozing off. Ben felt his stomach lurch. He did _not _like how David was looking at his friend.

"Riley," Ben said quietly. Riley bounced back from the edge of sleep. He looked at Ben in a blurry confused manner.

"Huh? Wha? Ben what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just come over here."

Ben wasn't taking _any _chances. He wouldn't put it past the creep to attack his friend when he was half-asleep and completely exhausted. Riley crawled sluggishly to Ben, eyes already drooping again.

"What's up Ben," Riley muttered. Ben reached over and pulled the young man to him leaning him carefully against his good shoulder. Ben held him protectively, not wanting David to have a remote chance of hurting him while he slept.

Even then Ben knew he was helpless if David really wanted to hurt them….but it was the best he could do. The treasure hunter looked back up to David and repressed a shudder. Ben would never for the rest of his life, forgive himself if something horrific happened to his little friend.

"'M not a teddy bear," Riley mumbled drowsily although he nestled closer to Ben, away from the chilly air.

"Go to sleep Riley."

"My branch," Riley murmured, his head resting heavier on Ben's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. You're safe. Just go to sleep," Ben whispered.

"Okey-dokey." A few moments later he was snoring into Ben's jacket.

Ben looked back up to David, his expression icy.

The man was glaring at him as well. They had a glare-off for a few moments, Ben daring the man to get any closer to them.

His expression couldn't be mistaken for anything but _If you hurt him, I'll kill you._

David laughed lightly and paused in his stick scraping and the knife glinted dangerously.

"Ben, Ben, Ben. You're hardly in a position to protect him. I can easily yank him away from you and kill him on the spot."

"You're…pretty twisted," Ben said, unconsciously tightening his grip around Riley.

David shrugged and grinned. "I have this," he held up the knife. "And a gun. And these, " he held up his hands. "You have nothing. You could barely defend yourself if it came down to it, and you know it."

Ben looked angrily at him, clenching his jaw. His heart had begun to beat faster. David tossed the pocketknife and caught it in his hand. He began to inch toward Ben and Riley.

"Don't come any closer," Ben warned, trying to keep the fear from his demeanor. David just laughed and snapped the knife shut. "I was just making a point. I don't think you'd normally be so scared of a little ol' pocketknife, huh?" he chuckled evilly.

Ben chose not to say anything but continued to glare icily at the man, holding Riley close.

"It sucks being helpless, doesn't it?" David sneered. Ben wished desperately wished he wasn't so injured. He would have decked the man in the face.

-

It was a while later when Ben was finally able to relax a little. Both of the Wilkinsons asleep. Ben was surprised one of them wasn't keeping guard the whole night. Maybe they figured their prisoners wouldn't be stupid enough to run away.

Ben briefly entertained the thought of waking Riley and getting the hell away from the two men but knew it was a bad idea. They were both hurt and would only make a few limping yards before a Wilkinson woke up. And then what? Would they beat the crap out of them? Worse? Ben shuddered. He would be willing to make the sacrifice if it meant his best friend would escape, but he knew Riley would never take the chance if it meant Ben would be left behind. Then if their captors caught Riley they could easily murder him. That thought was enough for Ben not to try and escape.

"What am I going to do?" he whispered helplessly, his voice lost in the night breeze. The surrounding forest was a black, the trees sharply silhouetted against the indigo sky.

Ben sighed and lifted a hand and absently began stroking Riley's brown hair. The cold night air sent goosebumps over his skin and he would have given anything just to be in his warm house with his wife. He raised his eyes up to look at the heavens, stars pinpricking along its frame and thought of Abigail.

Without the pollution of city light he saw thousands upon thousands of stars. With nothing else to do his eyes picked out constellations, naming Orion, Cygnus and Virgo…the Big Dipper…or the Great Bear…his mind drifting over the countless stories the night sky brought, that his grandfather and parents told.

He was pulled out of his reverie when Riley moaned squeezing his eyes shut and mumbled something incoherently. He tugged on Ben's hands subconsciously as if trying to fight him off. Ben stared down at his friend in concern. He could barely see his face in the faint light of the moon and stars

"Buddy, it's me. It's okay. It's just Ben." Riley's eyes snapped open, and he jerked in shock, his breathing panicked as he looked around himself wildly.

"It's just me," Ben assured again. Riley let out quivering breath and relaxed slightly. Ben frowned when he felt his friend trembling.

"You cold?" He began to briskly rub one of Riley's arms with one hand.

"N-Naw…I'm good, Ben…" Riley sniffed.

"Then why are you shaking?" Ben asked. Riley raised and lowered a shoulder, which Ben interpreted as a shrug.

"A-Although you are nice and w-warm," Riley muttered huddling closer to Ben. Ben smirked a little. "I'm actually cold too. My innards are what's warm."

"That's d-disgusting."

"It's true. That's where inner body heat comes from."

"Whatever Ben," Riley grumbled. He was still trembling and Ben couldn't help but begin to feel anxious. _What's wrong with you kid?_

"Riley, are you really that cold?"

Riley moaned and shook his head into Ben's shoulder.

"Just g-give me a minute… I'll stop s-shaking…"

Ben's frown deepened. Frankly, Riley's behavior was alarming him. His worry sharpened when he heard a shuddering breath from his friend. If this wasn't cold related he figured Riley was having some sort of mini panic attack.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Y-Yeah." Riley whispered.

He was silent for a few moments, glancing around at his surrounding before shivering violently. His blue eyes obscured with night suddenly flicked up to the star filled sky.

"Wow," was all he said.

"Yeah."

There was a few moments of silence and Ben felt Riley continue his trembling.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ben persisted, beginning to feel like a broken record.

"No…" Riley finally answered in a shaky soft voice. He was scared. Just the fact that he admitted it meant he was more than likely terrified.

Riley plopped his head back onto Ben's shoulder and sighed. It didn't help that they were in the middle of the mountains, wilderness all around…it wouldn't have even bothered him at this point if the two men weren't sleeping a few yards away. He squeezed his eyes closed, wanting to just go back to sleep, forget about this whole thing.

"Do you know the story about Cygnus the Swan?" came Ben's steady voice. Riley smiled to himself. He did in fact know the story, and most of the stories from the constellations. Astronomy had been a subject of interest to him, although he never really pursued it any more than an elective or two.

"Tell me the story," Riley mumbled. Ben began to stroke his younger counterpart's back comfortingly and his voice became softer and soothing as it always did when he told a story.

"Cygnus was the best friend of Phaeton, the son of Apollo. One day Phaeton was struck by lighting from Apollo's chariot, and fell into a river. Cygnus dove into the water over and over, in search of his friend but to no avail." Ben shifted Riley in his arms and closed his eyes. He finally felt Riley begin to calm down, the tremors going through his body becoming less and less.

"Zeus was moved by Cygnus' devotion to his friend. He changed him into a swan so he could continue looking for Phaeton. Finally Cygnus gave up in despair and Zeus placed him into the sky as a constellation."

"I always thought he could've chosen another animal." Riley muttered. "Something cool. Like a shark."

Ben chuckled softly. "Why because you think swans are girly?"

"No…" Riley silently contemplated for a few moments. "Because swans are…sad."

They were silent for a while. Ben sensed Riley was much calmer. His breathing returned to normal.

"How's your owies?" Riley muttered drowsily.

"Fine," Ben lied. "How's your hand?"

"Fine," Riley said. Ben sighed and shook his head in amused annoyance.

"Go to sleep buddy." Ben said again.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Riley mumbled. He rested his head against Ben's shoulder and closed his eyes.

Ben felt Riley nodding off into his coat again. Then by the steady even breaths he figured Riley had fallen back asleep. Thank goodness.

Ben cast a quick glance over at David and Seth, thanking God they were still sleeping. How did this even happen? It was just supposed to be a simple treasure hunt, and Riley had been so excited for it. Now they were barely hanging on by a thread and at the mercy of two psychopaths.

"I'm sorry for always getting you into messes," Ben whispered to his sleeping young friend. "You never even needed to come along..."

Riley was always so concerned about his friends, putting himself on the line. Ben recalled the times in Cibola when Riley had offered himself selflessly so his friends could escape. How he had made it a priority to usher Ben's family into the room underneath the City of Gold. It was no secret that Riley possessed a fierce unexplained loyalty. He was always there for his friends.

"But what about you Ri?" Ben whispered, looking sadly at the sleeping man. "Who was there for you?"

He sighed and closed his eyes leaning his head against Riley's. His friend was safe, for now at least, and that helped distract Ben from the constant pain and fall asleep.

__-__

"If out of all mankind one finds a single friend, he has found something more precious than any treasure, since there is nothing in the world so valuable that it can be compared to a real friend."

_-Andreas Capellanus_

_-_

A/N: Even if the quote is a little corny I thought it was appropriate :P Daw. Teh brotherly luffz (fluff + love=luff) Enjoy it while you can… (shifty eyes) Think of it at the calm before the proverbial storm….

Seriously. This will be the last 'light' part in _awhile_. The next few chapters will be VIOLENT and ANGSTY. You've been warned! Don't say I didn't warn you! If you don't like angst, now's a good time to abandon ship! ABADON SHIP!!!!!!!  
-

Also if you have the chance, watch the Blu-Ray NT1 commentary with Jon Turtletaub and Just Bartha. One of the funniest things ever.

-

THE MERRIEST OF CHRISTMESES AND OTHER CELEBRATED HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL XD!!!!!


	10. Point Of No Return

A/N: Ahhh… first update for 2009. O_o Thank you a million times to **broadwaylover07, KCS, Radomchick16, smileyaili, QuierdoMusic, Masterarcher, kutlessgurl90, WorldofWarCraftFanatic16, Autumnnights, RedRaven1994, Time and Fate, Daimon Starr, Arica Princess of Rivendell, Miss Fenway, AnnaBananaphone, White N Nerdy, Dillyn Breeze, SN=love, ArodieltheElfofRohan, Faryn Katz and Honey Dipped Roses **for the wonderful reviews :')

Seriously, I was really down on the chapter but everyone said such nice things about it, that now I'm convinced its not completely bad :P If I could give you all hugs I would! Happy New Year people, may you have a splendid one.

Warnings: VIOLENCE. And ANGST. On a minor note, a swear word from Ben. Don't curse kiddies. It ain't nice :P Ben's just upset.

_-_

The first thought that drifted through Riley's sluggish mind as he regained consciousness was that his hand hurt. Scratch that, it more than hurt. It was on fire.

"Ow…" he muttered, clenching his jaw. Slowly, he regained a sense of his surroundings, but he refused to open his eyes

Despite the brisk air, he wasn't that cold. Probably because of the warm thing he was leaning against. His blurry mind went from groggy and confused to moderately aware. He realized that his head was resting against Ben's shoulder and one of Ben's arms was wrapped securely around him. That would explain why he wasn't freezing.

By now he was wide-awake. Groaning inwardly, he forced his heavy eyelids open. A faint light barely illuminated the sky as the early morning drew near. Riley smiled to himself, relieved. But his smiled dropped. Ben was breathing harshly, even in his sleep. Riley swallowed hard, cradling his burning hand to his chest. Other dull throbbing pains made themselves known, but he ignored them. Instead, he heavily lifted his head from Ben's shoulder and looked carefully at him. Besides his ragged breathing, his face was frighteningly pale. Riley's stomach did an awful somersault.

He knew Ben was just trying to keep him alive, attempting to buy time for them. But his body couldn't handle much more of it. Unless something was done, he could very well die. And Riley was _not _going to let that happen.

Riley turned his eyes over to their captors. Both of them were apparently asleep, which Riley thought was pretty stupid, but all the better for him. A crazy idea began to form in his brain. It was dangerous. Highly improbable and risky but Riley decided now was as good a time as any to attempt it or die trying.

Carefully, as quietly as he could, he squirmed out of Ben's grip. He paused for a moment as Ben stirred and wondered if he needed to slip in a replacement for himself like in Indiana Jones. Ben simply shifted his position and continued sleeping.

Sighing in relief, Riley sat back and weighed the task at hand. He would have to work quickly if he didn't want to be caught. His eyes scanned the ground and he found what he was looking for. David's pack.

Taking a deep breath, he began to slowly inch his way over to it. At every noise the twigs and dead leaves made as he shuffled his knees, Riley gazed in fear at Seth and David. Neither of them had woken up yet. His heart pounded wildly and Riley was scared it would wake up one of the Wilkinsons. To top it all off, his already searing hand was throbbing in protest to the sudden weight put on it from crawling.

Then he was in front of his goal. He glanced back. Only a couple of yards, but it felt like forever. Riley took a breath and his right hand wavered over the zipper. _Okay Riley. Stop thinking. Just do it, _he thought faintly. _Nimble ninja fingers_. _Opening a book bag should be child's play compared to picking a lock. _

Cautiously, he maneuvered the zipper open. The dim light made it hard to see the contents of the bag. As silently as he could, he began to feel around. Riley grimaced as his hand came into contact with some worrisome items. Rope, what felt like some stay bullet pellets, a pocket knife. He was simultaneously relieved and disappointed he couldn't find the gun. Then he realized David clutched it in his hand. But that wasn't what he was looking for. Riley gulped and forced his mind back to the current task.

A wave of relief hit him as he finally pulled out the small item and weighed it deftly in his good hand. The walkie-talkie. They hadn't gotten rid of it. It was simply turned off.

The trick was to leave it off but turn on the tracking device he had installed. He couldn't talk into it without the risk of waking the Wilkinson's. Riley glanced quickly at David. He was still asleep. This would be tricky with one hand, but Riley was sure he could do it. Riley placed the device on the ground and opened up the back compartment. After a moment of fiddling with wires he flipped the tiny switch. A small light blinked red, signaling that it was turned on. He closed it and then returned it to its original resting place.

Now it was only a matter of time before it was found out. Riley hoped that by then the rescuers caught on and tracked the device. If not… well, he would take whatever the men dished out. Which would probably be a bullet through the head.

Riley never took his eyes off his sleeping enemies as he slowly backed up, shuffling on all fours across the ground. He was almost back, if he could get there-

_SNAP _went a twig. David grunted in his sleep. Riley froze. _Oh. Crap. _After an agonizing moment, it appeared David did not wake up. Riley let out a shuddering breath and withdrew until his back was once again resting against the same tree as Ben. He closed his eyes and shivered, heart pounding painfully in his chest. He prayed that this would work otherwise he had no idea what else he could do.

_-_

"Wake up, sleeping beauties."

Ben's eyes snapped open just in time to see David about to strike his semi-awake comrade across his face. Ben managed to shift his arm and ended up absorbing most of the blow. Riley sat bolt upright and looked fearfully at the insanely grinning man.

"What-?"

"Shut. Up." David growled.

"I didn't even-" Riley stammered, his eyes widening.

"Shut up!"

His hand went up again to strike Riley, who cringed. But this time Ben caught his arm, halting the blow mid-swing.

"Stop it. Just stop it." Cold fury lined Ben's voice and they both looked at each other with equal amounts of hate. David yanked his arm away from Ben with an infuriating smirk.

"Just remember, you can't protect him forever," David said in a sing-song voice. Seth ambled over his indifferent aura almost as maddening.

"Both of you, on your feet."

Riley sighed and slowly stood up. His limbs screamed in protest but he told himself not to complain. Ben looked like he was about to vomit again. He kept grasping at the tree for support and clutching his abdomen with every move he made. Riley didn't say anything but put his hand on Ben's back, ready to leap forward and catch him if he fell down.

"What's wrong now," Seth said in annoyance. "Get going." He went over and was about to grab Ben by the shoulder but Riley jumped between the two of them, holding up his hands to Seth.

"Let me help him." Seth was more reasonable than his cousin, even if it wasn't by much. Seth shrugged but let Riley have it his way. Riley knelt back down and placed Ben's arm around his shoulders.

"Ben, do you think you can do it?" he asked softly. Ben looked at him and it scared Riley how much pain was in his dark blue eyes.

"Yeah, no problem." Ben mumbled looking a little annoyed at himself.

"Okay, on three. Ready, one… two…_three_."

With a grunt, he managed to get Ben to his feet, staggering a bit under the weight. Ben let out a soft groan but otherwise stayed silent.

"Okay then," David said, standing uncomfortably close to both of them. "Start moving."  
Riley glared at the man and somehow managed to get himself to walk, if not for himself, then for Ben. His friend hadn't said anything yet and it scared him. Ben managed to shift his weight again until he was nearly leaning entirely on Riley who strained to hold him upright.

"I'm sorry," breathed the treasure hunter.

"Just work on making sure you don't fall over," Riley mumbled as they started forward again. This had to end. Soon.

_-_

Ben knew he couldn't last much longer. He was fading fast, and his mind felt slightly delusional at this point. If Riley hadn't been so stubborn, maybe one of them would have gotten out of this alive. But Riley would rather perish with his friend than leave him to die. And Ben felt the same way. Neither of them would be able to forgive themselves if they abandoned the other to certain death.

They came to another clearing, and Ben felt his heart sink inside his chest, the last remaining strand of hope flickering out. There was nowhere to go. Only a steep cliff, jutting downwards leaving a view of the rest of the sweeping mountains.

Ben closed his eyes, steeling himself. This was it. He wished he could have seen Abigail one last time…. But he couldn't let himself think of her now. No, he couldn't be distracted.

"Get out of here," he whispered in own last attempt to get Riley away. Riley only shook his head slightly.

"Well, Gates?" Seth said, crossing his arms and glaring ominously.

Ben turned to face the Wilkinsons, resolute. "Well, I've got to admit to you guys, the treasure is not here."

"What the hell are you talking about."

"We're not anywhere near the treasure. The treasure is upstream. We've been walking downstream." Ben managed a grin. "You shouldn't have trusted me so easily."

Seth started forward and stopped short, an inch away from Ben. "You just did a _very _foolish thing, my friend. _Very _foolish."

"Wait. So, Gates, you're telling us you've been taking us the _wrong way_?"

Riley stared in horror at Ben. This was why Ben wanted him to run. The treasure hunter anticipated that all attention would be drawn to himself. And he wanted Riley to make a break for it as he was being killed.

"Yup," Ben was saying. "With any luck you'll find the actual treasure. But don't get your hopes up."

Almost simultaneously and with frightening suddenness both men surged forward and tore Ben away from Riley. Ben stumbled and fell onto the ground with a dull thud. Seth kicked Ben in the skull.

"You know what I'm gonna do, Gates," Seth hissed, grabbing the now semi-conscious man by the collar. "I'm going to make sure your last few moments on this green earth are a living hell, so you won't even feel the difference when you _get there_."

Riley was staring wide eyed, a million thoughts going through his head. Should he honor the sacrifice and run? No, because he could never turn his back as his best friend was being killed, not while he still had strength. He needed to help, and he knew Ben would do the same. Even if the whole thing was hopeless.

Riley wasn't sure what he screamed but he shouted out something because all three other men looked up at him as he darted forward. He wasn't even sure what he would do against two larger and powerful adversaries. But anything he would have done was brought to an abrupt end as David grabbed him violently, an arm going around his throat.

Seth turned his attention back to Ben, ignoring Riley's furious protests.

"You were always so _self righteous_," Seth snarled down at him, punctuating his sentence with a vicious kick to the stomach. Ben coughed as all the air was knocked out of his body.

"People like you make me sick. I'm going to enjoy this." Seth kicked him again. And again, knocking Ben from his back, onto his stomach. Ben attempted to sit up, or at least push himself up by the elbows, but a sharp heel was brought down between his shoulder blades. The force sent him crashing back down to the earth.

Riley had been watching with increased desperation and terror. David's vice grip around his throat made it nearly impossible to move. _Oh God, I can't just let this happen… _

As Ben shuddered on the ground, Seth almost lazily began to circle him. Then he gave him another brutal kick, this time to the ribs. There was a sickening crack and Ben screamed, his body contorting in pain.

"Stop," Riley said numbly, staring at his shaking friend on the ground. "You have to stop. He's dying."

"Of course he is," Seth grinned, flipping the prone form over carelessly with a foot. Despite his injuries, Ben kept attempting to force himself up. He never got far before Seth would send him crashing back toward the ground.

"_Leave him_ _alone!_" Riley cried, as he struggled fiercely. His voice became strangled as David tightened his grip around his neck. Riley closed his eyes. The only thing he could think to do was draw attention away from Ben. It was a matter of buying time.

"If you kill him… you'll be discovered," he managed to choke out. "The rescuers will be here…sooner then you think."

Seth stopped beating on Ben for a moment and turned to Riley. "What are you blabbering about, Poole. Make it fast. David, release him for a moment so he can talk" David growled but loosened his grip around Riley's neck.

"Thank you," Riley croaked, and straightened up, brushing himself off. Then he grinned slightly, putting on a false sense of bravado. "You know the walkie-talkie? Well guess what I did. I turned the tracking device on. It's been turned on for hours. Check it if you don't believe me."

Riley really wanted to see Ben's face in reaction to this news, but didn't dare look at him. He just kept his expression stoic as they pulled out the talkie talkie. There was the unmistakable flashing of red.

"See? You people are pretty stupid to leave it unguard-" He was cut off as his head was snapped backwards as David grabbed a fistful of his hair. Riley ended up staring straight into the assailant's sadistic eyes.

"I have been waiting," David snarled, his hot breath in Riley's face, "To get my hands on you. I'm going to kill you, and no one will ever find your body." He sneered. "And I'm going to enjoy every moment of it."

With that he began to drag Riley away from the cliff toward the forest. Riley panicked, digging his aching feet into the earth, trying to fight the man off.

"_NO_!" It took Riley a moment to realize the person who screamed was Ben because his voice was barely recognizable. The horror in it was palpable.

Ben propped up on one elbow, his face contorted with not only physical pain but also helplessness and dread. His eyes misted over as they stared into Riley's and a tear rolled down his cheek.

He had failed. Failed Riley. Failed his little bother. That fact was more painful then anything he felt now or would feel. Riley would be brutally murdered and Ben wouldn't be able to do a thing to save him.

As Riley looked back at his best friend he couldn't miss the apology in his tear filled eyes. Riley wanted to tell Ben it wasn't his fault. He wanted to tell him it would be okay.

Both friends looked at each for a brief layered and despairing moment.

Then there was a sudden explosive pain to his ribcage and Riley let out a hoarse cry before slumping in David's arms. The man continued to drag Riley's now limp body toward the woods.

"No!" Ben cried out again in desperation, every sense of dismay and helplessness crashing on him. Never in his entire life had he felt this powerless. "Where are you _taking_ him?! Riley! _Riley_!!"

_-_

As Riley was dragged further and further away from his friend, his panic fueled his exhausted and sore body to fight back with what little strength he had left. But he was no match for the larger man.

"Please, stop it!" he shouted, simultaneously pleading for Ben and himself. "Why are you doing this?!"

Riley was answered with a harsh strike to his face. The young man trembled violently, every bit of him screamed to get away, but he was helpless. He knew he couldn't show fear, but now he couldn't help it. He fought the urge to start begging the man not to carry out whatever sadistic torment he had in mind. Instead he managed to ask in a trembling voice, "W-What're gonna do?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Riley heard the cruel smile in his captor's voice.

The man violently threw him to the ground as if he was a rag doll. Riley heard another thump next to his head and he involuntarily flinched away from it, before realizing it was his book bag. Riley pushed himself up from the ground into a sitting position, his side burning in pain from where the man punched him. David grinned insanely down at him, which prompted Riley to press himself against a tree.

"Y-You just…stay the hell away from me!" Riley shouted in a pathetic attempt at bravery but he was visibly shaking from head to foot. David's evil grin widened, as he relished in the young man's fear. Riley attempted to stand but David brutally beat him back to the ground and didn't stop until Riley was curled up in a miserable heap.

"Stay down!" he barked. Eyes wide in fear and pain, Riley nodded. David fumbled into his book back. Riley swallowed when he pulled out a length of rope.

David turned back to Riley. "Give me your hands," he snapped.

"No, that's okay," Riley said, blanching considerably. Sighing in impatience, David grabbed Riley by his injured hand. Riley gasped in pain and then grimaced as his other wrist was captured. The young man attempted to pull his arms away but David held fast and wrapped the rope tightly around Riley's wrists. He finished tying the knot and lashed the rope to a low hanging branch. Riley fought back a scream of pain when his broken hand was cruelly bent backwards as David secured it to the branch. Then a scream of pain was forced out of him as David gave the knot a final yank.

David looked malevolently down at the terrified man. Riley whimpered in pain, curling his body protectively in on itself as best he could. He stared up at the man fearfully as he loomed over him.

"Aw, is Poole gonna cry?" David taunted cruelly, shoving Riley against the tree.

Riley somehow managed to find his voice. "L-Look, do whatever you want with me…. Just leave Ben alone…"

David just laughed and dealt a powerful punch to Riley's face, snapping his head to the side. "You can't help him. He's dead by now. You'll never see your friend again, and he's going to be food for the worms."

Something inside Riley snapped. His fear was suddenly overwhelmed as a fierce anger flooded in. It was so powerful that he retaliated by lashing out with his leg. David stumbled backwards with a shout of surprise. Then the creepy smile returned to his face. Wordlessly, he reached into his bag and pulled out the pocketknife. Riley's expression didn't change, and he held the monster's gaze.

"By the time I'm through with you," David hissed at him. "You'll be begging for me to end it."

"Go to hell," Riley spat at his attacker. David only flicked open the pocket knife and held it up to Riley's face. Then pressed it into his cheek, even drawing blood. Still no sign of fear, only anger. Well, that would change _very _soon.

"David," a voice suddenly snapped. Riley looked up blearily to see Seth standing there. Seth gave the man strung up to the tree a once over before sighing. He actually looked tired as he ran a hand over his face.

"David, really? We don't have time."

"You said you didn't care what I did!" David retorted with a sickening gripe. He turned and looked back at Riley almost hungrily, fingering his knife.

"That was before all of these complications. We need to finish disposing of Gates. Then we can kill Poole. The short way."

"I was just about to get started," David sighed, sounding severely disappointed.

"Two hours, David. The last guy took two hours, until he died. We don't have that kind of time for you to play around."

"But what about just leaving him here, unguarded?" David protested, not wanting to let this opportunity go.

"You have him tied to a tree David. He's not going anywhere. Help me finish off Gates."

"You left _him _unguarded," David muttered.

"He's half-dead," Seth chuckled. "Hurry up."

David turned back to Riley, who glared up at him, one eye already swelling shut.

"That's not even a warm up," David said sinisterly, and he shoved Riley back against the tree. He held the knife up to Riley one more time, to intimidate him. Then he snapped it closed about an inch from his face. He returned the pocketknife to the pack.

"Once your friend is dead, the real games will begin." David leered down at him and briefly patted Riley on the side of the cheek, causing him to flinch away. Then he gave Riley another kick, leaving him hanging limply from the tree.

_-_

Riley was shaking when David finally left him on the ground, hands suspended and tied to a branch over his head. He was trying not to completely freak out. Now that David was gone, his fear caught back up with him, but the burning rage deep in his chest never went out.

Riley began to twist his hands, tugging at the rope. Fresh tears of pain formed in his eyes as he tried to tug his arm away from the branch. His wrists were already chaffed and bleeding, his left hand nearly completely numb.

The thought that Ben was dying, possibly dead, made him all the more determined to free himself. Riley twisted and yanked his hand, hoping to loosen the rope just enough to slip out. But after a long moment of struggling fruitlessly he slumped forward, letting out a strangled sob of despair. It hurt too much to struggle anymore; he was weakened beyond the point of fighting.

_Oh God oh God oh God…please… please help… _Riley's inward desperate pleading turned into a sort of prayer. _I don't care what he does to me, but they're killing Ben right now. Please…_

Riley let out a deep shuddering breath, tears spilling down his face. He wiped his eyes with his trembling hand. His hand froze in front of his face. With a surge of relief and amazement, he realized that his right hand was free. His struggling must have somehow loosened the rope.

Not wasting another moment, he glanced around wildly until he spotted a stray branch on the ground. Taking a deep steadying breath strained a shaking arm toward it. The pain became too intense and he fell back, taking deep quivering breaths. _No. Can't give up…_

Again he stretched his free hand and grappled at the stick. He closed his eyes choking back a cry of pain. But then his right hand finally curled around the object of his struggle. He couldn't even allow himself a smile of triumph; the pain turned it into more of a grimace. Stick in hand he turned his eyes to the pack David left on the ground. Using the stick as kind of a fishing pole he managed to link through one of the straps and pull it toward himself.

Riley couldn't get his hand to stop shaking, but he managed to get the pack open and rummaged through it before finding what he was looking for. The pocket knife. He fumbled with one of the blades, digging his nail into the groove and flipped it open. Forcing himself to his feet, he reached up to his hand bound to the branch, which at this point was numbed over. As quickly as he could, he began to cut through the rope. He winced and hissed in pain, but continued to relentlessly cut through the fastening. Finally the rope went lax and fell from his hand. Riley slowly lowered his dead hand to his side. He wasn't able to tell if the circulation was returning, it was completely numb from the pain.

But he was free, and a part of him wanted to run. But he knew he couldn't. Ben was in danger, and Riley needed to help.

Riley bent back toward the pack and looked through it, until hand closed around a cold handle. He pulled the silver pistol from the bag.

_-_

The pain was so horrible Ben almost wished he would just die so it would stop. The last thing he saw was Riley being dragged away and then he must have passed out, because when he woke up both the Wilkinsons were leaning over him. No Riley in sight. Ben felt his stomach twist, barely hanging onto consciousness. The only reason he fought to stay awake was because of his terror for Riley's fate. Every fiber of him screamed in pain but he stubbornly fought away the blackness gathering in his vision.

"Hello, Ben." Seth said coldly. "Surprised to see you still awake."

Where's Riley?!" Ben gasped, knowing he could already be dead. "I swear…if y-you've…"

David raised his hands in a mock innocent shrug. "That's real funny Ben. Threaten _me_?"

Then he leaned forward smiling evilly, basking in the power he held over treasure hunter.

"He's alive. For now."

Ben shuddered, his body refusing to cooperate. "Please…" he whispered painfully, "He has n-nothing to do with this… d-don't kill him."

David's cruel smile widened. "I plan to keep him alive for a while, if you get my drift."  
Pure fury and adrenaline were the only things allowing Ben sit up and attempt to throw himself at David. Seth grabbed him and held him back as he fought.

"_You sick sonofabitch_!" Ben screamed hoarsely, trying to rip himself from Seth's grip. If he had, there was no doubt he would have attempted to kill the man. David was obviously enjoying himself. "What, did I strike a chord Ben?"

Ben spat directly in the sadist's face. David slowly wiped the spit from his face, his eyes never leaving Ben. "You're gonna regret that."

What happened next Ben couldn't really tell. It seemed like every part of him was simultaneously lit on fire. He desperately attempted to twist his body away from the agony but it came in a barrage from every side. Someone was screaming, and Ben realized with some amount of shame it was himself…but it was disconnected, almost as if he wasn't attached to it.

Strangely enough it was at this moment when he suddenly felt calm and he saw Abigail in his mind's eye. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. He wished he could have held her once last time, and with added sorrow he realized he never had the chance to see his baby daughter, he would never take care of her or see her grow up…His parents, his poor mother would be crushed and he wanted to tell his father so many things, apologize for so many things. Riley, his dear friend Riley…was going to die a slow and painful death because of him. He breathed an _I'm sorry _and _I love you _to all of them, accepting even as his consciousness slipped away, that this might be how it ended…

There was a sudden crack, a reverberation throughout the entire clearing.

The assault on Ben stopped short. He lay there for a moment, gasping and shuddering violently. Then he slowly removed his arms from where they were protectively secured over his head. Raising his face to the sound, he looked as best he could through his blackened eyes.

Riley stood with a gun raised over his head, having just given off a warning shot. His chest heaved as stared with a cold fury at the two men, his left arm limp at his side. He slowly brought the gun to their level and clicked it dangerously.

Ben had never seen that look in his young partner's eyes before. And it scared him. Riley could barely hurt a fly without becoming squeamish, let alone murder two people in cold blood.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Riley said with an eerie blankness to his voice.

"Woah…kid, put that thing down…" Seth said as he eyed the weapon fearfully. "You obviously don't know what you're doing."

"You were going to kill my best friend," Riley said, the gun still trained on both men. "Right in front of me. He has a wife…a kid's on the way." The gun clicked. "Give me a reason not to."

For once, both Wilkinsons remained silent, breathing heavily.

"Riley," Ben managed to say with difficulty. "It's not…worth it." He was not going to see his sweet, good-natured and in many ways, innocent, best friend become a cold-blooded murderer on account of him.

"They were hurting you Ben." Riley's voice was steady but tears lurked behind his blue eyes.

"I know…" Ben said gently. "I know. But don't shoot them…they're not…worth it Riley…"

"But Ben," Riley began; he wanted to say _you're worth it._

"Riley," Ben interjected firmly. "Don't shoot…"

Riley swallowed and suddenly seemed to come back to himself. He stared at the gun in his hand as if it were a spider.

"Okay…" he breathed, although he didn't lower it. David suddenly sprang forward with a snarl.

"David!" Seth shouted.

"RILEY!" Ben yelled, but it was too late.

Riley cried out as he was shoved to the ground, the other man grabbing for the weapon. The gun discharged.

_-_

A/N: Well, the Wilkinsons are officially the worst kidnappers in history. Poor Ben and Riley ;( why must we torture them so.


	11. Full Measure

A/N: Thank you times a million cookies to **KCS, WorldofWarCraftFanatic16, boradwaylover07, QuierdoMusic, Rose, fallenleaves19, daisyduke80, smileyali, kutlessgurl90, Masterarcher, Acria Princess of Rivendell, Samps432, SN=love, AnnaBananaphone, RascalFlattsS, BandGeek58407, Elyy2k, Anonymous Eli, Flicka, AdrodieltheElfofRohan, LastChancetoBreathe, Miss Fenway, Jedi'Pirate Jeah, White N Nerdy, Pennstance Fliin and Soon to be world renown Gracie **for your scrumptious reviews XD!!!!

Meh. Hope you guys like the chapter and I hope the action isn't too confusing. I'm not gonna angst again.

Also to clarify my author's at the end of the last chapter, the Wilkinson's are the worst kidnappers in history because they suck at kidnapping people lol. I kinda wish I made them more interesting but they serve their purpose for being evvilll.

Warnings: Angst. And violence. And angsty violence.

_-_

Riley fell to the ground, David collapsing on top of him. The young man lay there for a moment in horror, a complete deadweight nearly suffocating him. Then he struggled, pushing the man off himself and shuddered violently.

The bullet had gone straight through David's skull. Nausea overwhelmed Riley, and he turned to the side, throwing up the little he had in his stomach. Shakily, he sat up and for the first time looked down at himself. Crimson soaked through the front of his sweater, and droplets splattered a few yards away.

Riley turned his tear-filled eyes up to Ben. The older man appeared stunned, but forced himself not to look at the body. Instead turned back to his shaken friend.

"Riley-" A furious kick to the stomach cut Ben off and he doubled over, coughing wretchedly. Seth looked down in disgust at Riley who still sitting next to the body, scarlet nearly staining his entire tattered sweater. Riley saw his eyes go to the gun, resting in a dark pool of blood. They both lunged at the same time.

"No you don't," Seth snarled as he snatched it away before Riley could grab it. Then he tackled Riley to the ground and pinned him there. The pistol suddenly pressed against his cheek. Riley's heart froze and his body went rigid in fear. _I'm going to die, I can't die, I can't, not now… _

There was nothing he could do but close his eyes tightly and wait for it to be over. The gun clicked as the trigger pulled back.

Nothing happened.

Riley gasped, adrenaline surging through his body as his eyes snapped open. He was still alive.

Seth let out a string of violent curses as he looked at the gun. Riley made a futile attempt to squirm away but Seth slammed him back to the ground so hard, his head wrung with the impact.

"You're not going anywhere." He glared down into Riley's terrified wide blue eyes. The cold barrel of the gun once again pressed into his skin.

Out of the corner of his eye, Riley saw a brown blur. There was a dull _thud _as Seth was knocked to the ground. Ben furiously slammed his fist into Seth's face. Seth merely spat out the blood and flipped Ben over, knowing the man didn't have the strength to seriously fight back. Ben shouted something to his friend, but Riley couldn't really hear it over the blood pounding in his ears. Both men grabbled for the gun. Ben was thrown violently back to the ground, a few feet away from Riley. He lay quite still, and Seth gave him a kick for good measure to make sure he wouldn't get up. Then he smirked and picked up the gun. He didn't point it at Ben, but at Riley.

"Bye-bye Poole."

Another resounding _crack _filled the clearing. Riley cringed, then his eyes widened in horror. Ben once again had somehow found the energy to tackle Seth, catching him around the legs and misdirecting the line of fire.

"BEN!" Riley shouted and frantically threw himself into the fray, hoping to pull his friend away from danger.

"_Get out of here_!" the treasure hunter bellowed at him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the glint of the gun once again focus it's attention on his friend. In one brief motion, he wrenched himself away from Seth and stumbled in front of Riley.

"Ben, don't-" was all Riley could manage before Seth pulled the trigger. Another blast from the gun and Ben collapsed soundlessly to the ground.

"BEN!" Riley screamed hoarsely. He began to run forward but Seth jammed the gun at him. "Idiot!" he snarled at Ben. "You idiot!"

Riley stared in stupefied terror at his friend. Ben was still alive, but he was barely moving. His body slowly contorted in on itself as he writhed in silent agony. Blood seeped from his body, dampening the dark ground. Riley couldn't tell where he was shot.

"How is he still _alive_?!" Seth shouted in frustration. He clicked the gun and pointed it at Ben's head.

Riley suddenly slammed into him, his fist colliding with nose. Seth was caught unaware and the gun flew from his hand. Riley tackled him to the ground. Seth merely sneered, easily overpowering the techie.

He slammed down on Riley's broken hand. Riley let out a cry of pain and fell into silence as he was punched in the ribs, knocking all the air out of him. A wiry hand encircled his neck and began to squeeze. The young man blinked as he felt himself beginning to suffocate. In an attempt to get away, he managed to kick out. Seth grunted in pain but slammed Riley back onto the ground causing the back of his head to bruise.

Riley began to cough but continued to glare at Seth, both his hands attempting to pry the fingers off his neck, but the grip was like steel. Instinctively, Riley's hands flew to up to Seth's face and he raked his nails across it. Seth hissed in pain but only tightened his grip. Black dots exploded into Riley's vision and as he struggled to get oxygen. Riley's attempts to fight Seth off had failed and he was asphyxiating.

A dim thought in the back of his mind told him he was dying. But another part of his brain, a stronger more insistent part, told him he couldn't give up. He had to fight.

An idea struck him and he prayed it would work. It was his last chance. Riley allowed himself to go completely limp. His glazed over eyes looked up at Seth who was grinned maliciously, obviously thinking he succeeded in squeezing the life out of Riley.

Then in a sudden burst of strength, Riley kicked out again and this time hit the man squarely in the chest. Caught off guard, Seth staggered off of him completely winded.

Riley rolled over gasping for breath. He began to scramble away but Seth recovered swiftly. Riley felt his leg jerk as Seth grabbed it and began to drag him across the ground. Riley knew exactly where Seth was taking him. To the edge of the cliff.

"I don't need the gun," Seth chuckled sadistically at Riley. "This'll be an easier way to get rid of evidence."

He hauled Riley up and grabbed him by the collar. Riley could barely hold himself up. Still grabbing Riley by the scruff of his shirt, Seth yanked him the rest of the way. Through bleary eyes, Riley could see the edge of the cliff. His heart stopped and he made a last ditch effort to get away. "Now, now, Riley. It would be better not to fight." Seth told him. He held Riley out over the drop off, so there was nothing but air pressing on Riley's back.

"Don't look so sad. I'm doing you a favor. This'll be over quickly." Then with a single shove, Riley lost his balance. His slow muddled brain suddenly snapped to realization. He teetered on the edge for a moment then his feet went out from under him.

In a spit second decision, Riley caught himself on the ledge with both hands, and his left hand seared in agony. Riley couldn't bring himself to move an inch to alleviate the pain. He could barely keep his grip; he was in such a precarious position.

Seth stood over him with a leer. "You're just making it harder for yourself!"

Riley gasped in pain and fear, holding on for dear life. A boot stomped on his broken hand and Riley screamed. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't end now. Not like this.

"Too bad you couldn't pull the trigger Poole."

"Too bad I can," growled an angry voice. There was a deafening crack. Seth froze and blinked in confusion. Then he looked down at himself. Blood appeared on his chest. He stumbled and lost his footing, plummeting downward, right past Riley. Riley let out a small horrified sound. He really didn't want to follow suit.

Ben leaned over the cliff and dropped the gun, letting it follow its owner. His eyes looked coldly after the man, without pity or a trace of remorse for what he'd just done.

"Ben!" Riley cried in complete shock. He gave another short cry as he exerted his strength, holding onto the cliff as the eroding dirt shifted.

"Riley," Ben gasped hoarsely. He crawled forward and reached out a shaking hand for his friend to grab onto. Riley was surprised he managed to hold on for dear life this long. He wondered if his life would flash before his eyes. He really hoped it would, otherwise falling to his death would _suck. _

"Listen…" Ben panted. "Don't move…okay? I'm gonna…get you outta-"

Just then the rock crumbled nearly entirely. Riley cried out as he slid a few inches downward, his fingers clawing desperately into the dirt. Sharp rocks cut into his already injured hands.

"Oh my God," he gasped, resisting every urge he had to look down. "Oh God."

"Ri…don't move. It's gonna be okay." Ben muttered.

Suddenly the ground gave way completely. In one heart stopping-moment, nothing but emptiness filled all sides and he couldn't force out a scream lodged somewhere between his chest and his throat. Then there was a painful jerk on his arm and everything halted. Disoriented, it took a moment to regain his senses, and when he did he wished he hadn't.

He was dangling helplessly over the steep precipice. Ben had reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping his fall. Riley looked up and blinked. His friend was grimacing in absolute agony, literally gasping for breath.

Ben was already bleeding internally. He couldn't support the full brunt of Riley's weight, let alone pull him up without causing even worse devastating damage to his body.

Ben's grip on his friend's forearm weakened, and Riley slid downward until Ben only clung to his hand. His face contorted in pain but he looked down at Riley gave a kind of choked shout, "I'm pulling…you up!"

Riley looked on in horror as sweat began to pour from his brow, one hand the only thing preventing his young friend from plummeting to his doom. Ben slowly began to pull Riley upward. Each movement caused Ben to almost cry out in pain. It looked like he was going to tear in half.

"Ben," Riley shouted after finding his voice. "Ben, let me go!"

"Don't…be…stupid…" Ben said, gasping painfully. Then he screamed, jerking in anguish as something in his body snapped or tore, but he wouldn't let go.

Not for the world, he wouldn't let go.

Riley almost began to cry. "Ben!" he screamed. "_Let go of me_!"

Ben ignored him. His body was protesting and broken, everything logical for self-preservation pointed to him releasing Riley's hand. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth looking like a toothpick about to snap. Riley finally let out a sob. His friend was being slowly torn apart, shredded to pieces because of him.

"Please," Riley begged. "Ben, _please_!"

With a last exertion, Ben cried out as he yanked Riley the rest of the way up the drop-off. Riley scrambled onto solid ground, gasping for breath. Ben collapsed in a heap, the last of his strength gone. His whole body curled in on itself. Riley immediately crawled toward him and pulled him halfway onto his lap.

"Ben," he said with a tearful laugh, shaking his head, "You took the heroics too far this time."

"Riley…" Ben gave his best friend a weak smile. "You're…always…a handful."

To Riley's horror Ben suddenly convulsed and began to cough. It wouldn't stop. Frightening coughs tore through his body and left him floundering for air. Riley put a hand on his heaving chest and felt an erratic heartbeat.

"Ben…" his eyes widened in terror and he pulled his hand away. Blood. Ben was coughing up blood.

_-_

" _[Ben] notices the Gettysburg Address …which includes the line…'the last full measure of devotion'... And in understanding what people give, because there are issues greater in life than your own safety, he realizes this is something he needs to do, whether for his great grandfather, his current father, or even his friend Riley who said, 'Trust me on this book thing'." _

_-_Jon Turteltaub, about the deleted Lincoln Memorial scene from BOS.


	12. Hold On

I would like to thank **QuierdoMusic, Miss Fenway, broadwaylover07, KCS, WorldofWarcraftFanatic16, kutlessgurl90, MonkeyShooter07, smileyaili, Flicka, daisyduke80, AnnaBananaphone, Pennstance Flinn, BandGeek58407, Faryn Katz, SN=love, ArodieltheElfofRohan, Masterarcher, Dillyn Breeze, White N Nerdy, LastChancetoBreathe, Golden-Heart, Lindelas **and **AutumnNights **for the delectable reviews XD (hands out Riley plushies for everyone).

Warnings: This chapter is basically all angst…

_-_

Riley felt numb. He tried to steady Ben by supporting his head because the coughing began to contort his body in agony. The blood scared Riley the most. The blood meant that something inside the body wasn't right. Riley briefly wondered if he should find the bullet wound, but then noticed the blood staining Ben's jeans. He'd been shot in the leg.

Ben finally stopped coughing and now drew in hoarse breaths, trembling uncontrollably. Riley shakily took his sleeve and wiped the blood away from his mouth. His friend's face was so pale, paler then he had ever seen it. In that moment Riley felt lost and scared, and he was a little kid all over again.

_Stop_, Riley told himself, fending off the oncoming hysteria. _You have to think_. Riley took a deep breath. _Ben needs medical attention. Beyond what you can do to help. The search and rescue. You don't know if they're even on their way. _Then his eyes widened and he looked down at Ben. He hated to leave his friend like this, even for a second.

"Ben, I'll be right back, okay?" Ben hardly seemed to hear, just blinked weakly up at him. As gently as he could, Riley slid Ben back to the ground. The older man grimaced, as even that small motion caused him pain.

"Hang on," Riley commanded. _Please, just hold on._

Riley stood and limped as fast as he could to the middle of the clearing. The pain hardly bothered him now. He didn't have the luxury to worry about himself.

His eyes scanned the ground, trying to locate the object of his search. Then he let out a strangled sigh of relief and bolted toward the walkie-talkie. It became a literal lifeline.

With a trembling hand, he turned it on and prayed someone was on the receiving end.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" _Oh geeze, is that my voice? It's horrible. _"Please, someone answer me."

There was a few moments of gut-wrenching silence. He cursed, realization hitting him. The frequency was wrong. It had to be on the same channel as the search and rescue, meaning he needed to adjust it. _What are the numbers?! _For a second nothing but blind panic took control of him. Then Riley closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _You know this. You don't forget numbers. _After a moment, when he successfully calmed himself down enough to think, the numbers popped into his mind one by one. He adjusted the knob to the appropriate setting. _One five five…one six..zero …_ _Please, God. Let this work._

He pressed down on the talk button. "This is Riley Poole…somebody please respond." More silence and static.

Then an unmistakable crackling and a voice answered back. It wasn't anyone he recognized but Riley almost fell over in pure relief.

"Riley Poole, this is Jennifer Castillo with the New Mexico Statewide Search and Rescue. We have your tracking device on radar and a rescue copter is already en route to airlift you and Mr. Gates out."

"Oh thank the Lord," Riley gasped. His hand was quaking so badly, he could barely hold onto the device. "Please, hurry. My friend…he's seriously hurt…." He swallowed hard and gazed at the inert form of Ben.

"Can you tell us what's wrong?" Jennifer asked, her professional voice not giving away any emotion.

"He's…" Riley couldn't help it when a sob escaped him. "He's coughing up blood."

There was a pause. "He's coughing up blood?"

"Y-yeah," whimpered Riley.

"Make him as comfortable as possible. I'm going to be right on the other end, if you need anything. The rescuers will be there soon, okay?"

"Okay," Riley whispered. He lowered the walkie-talkie numbly. There was nothing anyone could do until the medical attention actually arrived.

"Riley?" Ben's hoarse voice called from a few yards away. Riley immediately scampered back over to his friend. Tears now forced their way to the surface as he knelt down and carefully lifted Ben into a half-sitting position.

"Ben, hold on. They're coming, just a little longer," Riley encouraged. As he continued to speak softly, he took his unoccupied hand and once again wiped away the blood trickling out of Ben's mouth. The red substance was now all over Riley's hand but he didn't notice. Ben's dark eyes stared at him but they seemed so far away.

"Riley…where did you go?" he gasped.

"I contacted the rescuers with the walkie-talkie. I'm here now," Riley told him softly.

"W-where are you?"

"Here," Riley repeated in alarm. "I'm right here," His heart pounded painfully. Ben gazed straight through him; blue eyes were wild and distant.

"It's s-so dark…" the treasure hunter mumbled. "I-I think I'm trapped…it's not my f-fault, is it? I followed… a-all the clues c-correctly."

"No, it's not your fault." Riley whispered tremulously. "Ben, can you see me?"

"Yeah…" Ben muttered. "I can see you…" He paused and took a rasping breath. "R-Riley, I'm sorry…about your c-car…" Ben said, his speech slurring. It seemed as though he was slipping in and out of his own delusional mind. Riley desperately tried to keep him conscious.

"Ben, it's okay. I have a new car, remember? Tax-free and everything…" he chuckled tearfully, and held back the urge to start crying uncontrollably. "Just…stay awake. You can't leave me."

"I'm sorry…I-I'm so sorry." Another bout of painful coughing wracked Ben's body. Riley sat him up more so he wouldn't choke on his own blood.

"R-Riley, it h-hurts so much…" Ben whispered. His eyes began to close.

"No, no, don't close your eyes."

Ben moaned. "But…I want it…t-to stop." With a sickening feeling, Riley realized Ben was giving up. _Oh no. No no no. Don't you die on me. _He gently took Ben's hand and began to stroke it.

"You're going to get through this Ben," he said over and over. "Just a little longer."

"Riley…you're my…best friend…"

"Oh my God," Riley said hoarsely. It sounded like the start of a goodbye. "Ben, no."

"…my little brother…I-I'm sorry…I couldn't …"

Riley could hardly bear it. "Shhh…Ben, stop. It's okay. I-it's gonna be okay," he assured, repressing the hot tears the threatened to fall.

"P-Please take… care of…family…"

"Don't…don't say that. It sounds like you're saying goodbye."

"Just in case…I don't…"

"You _will_!" Riley shouted as a sob tore from his throat. "Damn it Ben! You're going to make it!"

He furiously blinked back the tears burning at the edges of his eyes. Then he spoke again, this time in a quieter and firmer voice.

"You're going to make it. You said we both were. You promised."

"I…Riley…just…sorry…" Ben whispered faintly. He wasn't making sense, speaking in fragments. His eyes drifted further away.

Riley was holding a dying man.

No. Ben wasn't going to die. Riley wasn't going to let it happen.

He gritted his teeth and patted Ben's cheek, trying to get him to focus on him.

"Ben, hey. Hey, come on now. Look at me buddy. You need to stay awake." But his friend's eyes were misted over in pain; he barely seemed cognitive of anything around him. Riley had to engage him somehow.

"Don't close your eyes. Come on Ben. Abigail, you need to see Abigail again, right? And your little girl, you're going to be a dad."

Ben's eyes suddenly locked with his, and amazingly the most determined look Riley had ever seen came over his best friend.

"Abigail…" The man actually tried to sit up.

"Woah! Okay, not a good idea." Riley had to gently restrain him. "Lay still Ben. It's okay, just hang on for a little longer."

Ben lay back weakly in Riley's arms. His eyes held the same determined look. He was slipping away, yet somehow processing what Riley was saying.

A tear slid out of his eye. "My… baby girl…"

Riley had to swallow really really hard to force down another sob threatening him.

"You're going to see her. I promise, you're going to see them both."

Tears welled up in Ben's eyes as he drew in frighteningly shallow intakes of breath. He looked straight into Riley's blue eyes.

"Riley…?" he asked in a whisper.

"I'm right here Ben," Riley comforted, still gripping his hand and stroking it with his thumb. "Hold on for Abigail and your daughter. Come on. You can do this."

Ben's breathing calmed slightly, but it was enough to hopefully last him a few extra minutes.

_Where are the rescuers? _Riley thought desperately. _They have to get here soon. _Ben couldn't last much longer. A minute passed. And another. And another.

Neither of them knew how much time went by. All they knew was that each breath Ben struggled for kept him alive.

Ben concentrated on Riley with all his might. His eyes were glazed over and he couldn't talk. Even if he could, he was spending all his energy keeping himself alive.

Instead, Riley began to talk. He wasn't entirely sure what he was saying; it was mostly about Abigail and what he could remember from being the best man at their wedding. Ben seemed to be hanging onto every word he said as if his life depended on it, and Riley was startled by the thought that maybe it did. The young man did his best to distract his friend from the pain, the whole time praying that Ben would be okay.

Then after what seemed like an eternity, the most beautiful sound in the world greeted Riley's ears. A helicopter.

"Do you hear that Ben?" he whispered to his friend. "They're here. You're going to be fine."

Ben gave Riley's hand a weak squeeze to signify he understood.

_-_

A/N: The line "He didn't have the luxury to worry about himself" was inspired by a similar quote from a soldier in the picture 'Reaching Out' by photographer Larry Burrows.

Since school started up once more I'll probably be slow on updates again… but I'll try to update whenever possible ;)


	13. Rescue

A/N: ^_^ Thank you so very much to **KCS, broadwaylover07, smileyaili, Gandalf3213, daisyduke80, Faryn Katz, QuierdoMusic, AnnaBananaphone, Golden-Heart, BandGeek58407, kutlessgurl90, Miss Fenway, Pennstance Flinn, flashgambitsxgirl, Ficka, RevRiley, LastChancetoBreathe, Lindelas, HeavenRose, IloveDoctorMcDreamy, MonkeyShooter07, Airca Princess of Rivendell, Dillyn Breeze, Autumnnights, HSM-LucasScip, HikariFighter **and **Kakashi's-lil'-sis **for the scrumdiddlyumptious reviews XD Wow these lists are getting harder to type!

Augh, sorry guys. School is stinky. This is just sort of…another filler chapter, but maybe you'll like the angst… I don't know T_T. *tells self not to rant about it* I really just wanted to post it and get it out of the way. If you want you can just skip this one.

Disclaimer: I have virtually no knowledge of anything medical. Everything I wrote is what I gathered from various tv shows and internet articles…maybe some high school health class that I vaguely remember. :-P Also I don't own any Bens or Rileys (sighs wistfully).

Warnings: Well, for those of you who wanted Riley angst (as if there wasn't enough already)… this may contain disturbing content for some people.

_-_

The paramedics were upon them instantly. By some reserve of strength Ben remained awake, weakly clutching his friend's hand. Riley dimly realized his own hand had fallen asleep, and now both of his hands were numb.

Everything blurred together and Riley couldn't concentrate on the noise or the people swarming around him. His head felt like it was filled with cotton balls. He was only vaguely aware of the rescuers kneeling beside him, and next to Ben. Someone took his arm and tried to lead him away, but he shook them off.

They began cutting away Ben's clothes. Riley could tell his friend would have screamed in pain if he had the strength. Ben just closed his eyes, his face covered in sweat and blood. They ripped open his shirt, exposing the injured torso and began to prod it, causing Ben to moan.

"Internal bleeding, not good, we need to get them out of here, now."

"Watch his shoulder, watch his shoulder!" The medics continued to shout directions at one another as they slid Ben onto a backboard, strapping him down.

"Ben, you'll be okay," Riley told him, not knowing what else to say. Suddenly he felt terrified; a horrible feeling that he would never see his best friend again came over him.

"Ben…" he began in a quivering voice. Ben must have seen the fear in his eyes because he gave him a brief weak smile, and squeezed Riley's hand encouragingly. Then a mask was placed over his nose and mouth. Ben's hand went limp and slipped out of Riley's and the medics hustled the backboard away.

Someone took Riley by the shoulders as he numbly watched his friend being carted off. He groaned and fought back a wave of nausea as black dots suddenly danced in front of his vision.

"Can you stand?"

"I-I don't know…" Riley responded dazedly. The person helped him to his feet, but Riley's legs immediately gave out.

One of the rescuers caught him and shouted something to the others but everything seemed so far away, in another world. As soon as the arms went around him, it felt like every bit of strength Riley had left just drained from his body. He went completely limp against the person and he felt himself being lifted. He was so cold and his body shivered violently. His hand hurt.

Then he felt people holding him down; he twisted feverishly for a moment before he realized they were helping him onto a stretcher.

"T-They shot him," Riley mumbled deliriously to anyone who would listen. "They…wanted to shoot me…b-but they shot him…"

"It's okay," said one of the rescuers, beginning to strap him down. "We're getting both of you out of here."

"They s-stepped on my hand…it's good it's my left hand…b-because I need to use…my computer."

"Of course you do. Just relax. You're going to be okay."

Exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks as his head rested on the surprisingly soft stretcher. It wasn't even a bed but his body immediately took it as a cue to pass out, which he promptly did.

_-_

The next thing he knew he was inside the helicopter. Riley blinked slowly, staring straight upward. The interior was small. The ceiling was low, and it gave Riley a claustrophobic feeling, but he was relieved he wasn't strapped down anymore. His mind still couldn't process the dulled noise and chaos.

A man suddenly hovered above, obviously talking directly to him. Riley turned his glazed blue eyes up at him. He saw his mouth moving, heard the words, but it didn't make sense.

"Shock," someone said nearby. Someone poked and prodded him, and Riley flinched away, mumbling something incoherently. Then there was sudden sharp pinprick in his arm. The pain was there but he couldn't seem to get himself to respond to it. After a few moments everything suddenly came into sharper focus. He looked over at his arm to discover someone had stuck an IV into him.

"That's not cool," he complained in a weak voice. Supportive hands gently gripped him and helped him up into a sitting position.

Now that Riley's brain wasn't as sluggish, he tried to take in his surroundings. Three rescue workers in orange uniforms hovered over him, making it difficult to see past them. When he peered through the gap in their bodies there wasn't much to see anyway, besides various unnerving medical appliances on the wall. He was able to look out of a window, but all he could see was blue. Blue sky and white clouds.

Then his stomach knotted as he thought about Ben, and the horrible condition Riley last saw him in. Surely, the rescue workers would have been helping him by now. Riley now glanced around, with increasing panic to find his friend.

"W-Where's Ben," Riley mumbled blurrily. The two medics attending to him either didn't hear him or ignored him. Why was no one answering him?

Riley looked up just as a medic approached him with scissors. Riley eyed them with panic. But they just used it to gently cut his tattered shirt off. Riley winced every time the fabric rubbed against him as they carefully removed it. They started on his pants until he was only in his boxers. He found himself a little surprised that he was too tired to complain about that. When the clothes were removed there were some mutters as they surveyed his bruised body.

Man, this was embarrassing. It felt like he was in some sort of messed up version of a carnival sideshow. Everyone was just staring….

_NO,_ he reminded himself fuzzily. _They're helping. Grow up Riley, they're helping you and Ben_. But he hated being so vulnerable and he very much wanted his clothes back, no matter how gross and tattered they were. Something intensely uncomfortable shivered in the back of his mind but he fought it away, into his subconscious where it belonged.

Someone helped Riley lay down on his back once more. Riley blinked and stared at what he could of the window, as if hoping it would somehow transport him away from this nightmarish situation. He barely heard the medical jargon of the surrounding people or the pounding noise around him. He felt disassociated, hurt and numb at the same time. And he was scared for Ben. Where was his friend? Riley almost found himself wishing he could just pass out again and leave reality far away.

A figure suddenly leaned into his line of sight. "Hi there," it said. Riley peered up blurrily and squinted. An elderly rescue worker with a gray beard looked down at him.

"My name is Dr. Waite. You and your friend are being taken to the nearest New Mexico hospital."

Riley nodded, feeling too weak to even move his mouth to respond.

"I'm going to be checking you over," the doctor explained as he pulled on some white latex gloves. "This won't take long, just a few minutes."

Again, the young man merely nodded. Dr. Waite had to act fast; Riley barely acknowledged he heard him. As the doctor knelt down to being the examination he heard his patient whisper something.

"My friend… where is he?" Riley attempted to get up to but the doctor gently restrained him. The young man sank back onto the stretcher with a moan. _Why is everything spinning?_

"N-No one…will tell me anything," Riley added weakly.

Dr. Waite gave him a reassuring smile. "Your friend has already gone ahead in another helicopter."

"_Another _helicopter?" Riley asked in confusion. Dr. Waite nodded, now carefully checking the bruises on Riley's face.

"When we received the message from you, we realized we should dispatch two helicopters so Ben could have full medical attention. Thanks to you, we knew your location and were able to send out the second to pick you up immediately."

Riley nodded and felt tears burning in the back of his eyes. The second helicopter must have landed when he passed out. Dr. Waite began to gently move his hands about on Riley's bruised torso, checking for damage. Riley whimpered in pain when he touched his ribcage.

"Okay…" Dr. Waite murmured, pulling his hand back. "We may have a broken rib …"

Taking out a small flashlight he shined it in Riley's eyes, who flinched away from the light. A few moments later, Dr. Waite's brow furrowed in contemplation. _This is weird_, Dr. Waite thought. He examined Riley's particularly gruesome looking hand, along with the strangely placed numerous bruises.

Although he had only seen Ben for a few moments, he recalled that the other rescue victim had bruises like this all over his body as well. They seemed too methodical to be an accident, or from simply being lost in the woods. Even an animal couldn't cause injuries like these. The only thing that could explain it was…

"Dr. Waite!" A woman with a headset turned around in the chair she sat in, a strained look in her eyes. "I just got word from the other helicopter. They found a bullet wound in Gates' leg."

"A _bullet_?" The doctor asked incredulously, jerking his head up.

"That would mean…" He snapped his attention back to his semi-conscious patient, carefully scrutinizing with white-gloved hands.

Some of the bruises unquestionably bore the resemblance to stomp marks. He studied Riley's neck and saw what could only be described as contusions caused by attempted strangulation. Then he carefully lifted Riley's limp hand to study the deep circular lacerations on both his wrists. His stomach knotted unpleasantly. Injuries like these were rare, but when he saw them there was no mistaking them for what they were.

"Oh God," one of the other medics muttered_. _Dr, Waite felt anger bubble inside him. This wasn't just a typical search and rescue of lost hikers. Another person had attacked Ben and Riley. Judging by the extent of the injuries, more than one someone. Dr. Waite immediately turned to the woman with a headpiece and a radio transmitter.

"Jennifer, get in contact with the authorities, these men were assaulted and if the perpetrators are still out there-"

"They're dead," Riley interrupted in a quiet hoarse voice. Dr. Waite and the other medics looked at him quickly.

"O-One of them was shot the other….fell…" Riley trailed off.

"Okay," the doctor said quietly. "Then the bodies should be found. Do you know their names, son?"

Riley let out a shaking breath. "David and Seth Wilkinson…."

The doctor's frown deepened. "Do you have any idea why they attacked you?"

Riley managed a nod. "They wanted…the treasure…"

Dr. Waite shook his head and sighed angrily, staring at the abrasions and the discolored skin. When his patients were victims of assault by another person, it was different for him somehow. More personal.

The doctor motioned for the other medics to come and assist him with checking over Riley. Now that they knew he was attacked, different protocol needed to be followed and reported to the authorities.

Riley was barely conscious but as soon as the other medics tried to examine him, he immediately flinched away. Deliriously, he tried to push their hands away as they were inspecting him.

"D-Don't hurt me," he mumbled feverishly.

"Should we sedate him?"

"No, he's still in shock and he has that head injury. I want to hold off on that if possible."

Riley continued to try and push them away; recoiling every time some tried to touch him. Finally realizing he was unable to do anything, he curled over to his side and let out a pathetic whimper.

"Just relax. Everything's going to be okay," Dr. Waite soothed, and gently rolled the shivering young man onto his back once more. Riley shook his head and squeezed his eyes closed. It was obvious he was on the verge of hyperventilating and this didn't go unnoticed by the doctor.

"Riley," he said gently, trying the young man's first name in an attempt to calm him. He knew from experience it was better to try and get his patients to calm down by themselves. "Everyone here just wants to help, no one is going to hurt you. Will you let us check you over?"

Riley hesitated before nodding miserably, never opening his eyes. Dr. Waite continued to talk casually to the young man, hoping to distract Riley from his discomfort.

Finally the doctor pulled off his gloves. "We're done here, Riley."

"Good to hear," Riley breathed.

"Okay…" Dr. Waite began, consulting the clipboard of his assistant. He wondered if he should even bother telling Riley the extent of his injuries, the poor kid was literally about to pass out. "Your hand is the worst of it, but that should heal nicely if treated properly. Besides some various bruises and cuts, you're severely dehydrated…. your ribs are bruised, none broken…your ankle is badly sprained and you have a concussion."

"I do?" Riley asked blurrily as another medic wrapped a thermal blanket around him.

"Yes. When you get to the hospital you'll have some x-rays taken and a MRI. Other than that consider yourself extremely lucky."

A mask was placed briefly over Riley's nose and mouth before being removed. Riley blinked as his brain became fuzzy. Only one thought drifted through his semi-delirious and in a state of shock mind.

"How's Ben?" Riley managed to get the question out, but it came out slurred.

"Don't worry right now, okay?"

Riley felt his eyes beginning to close, fatigue and whatever drug they gave him wearing on his body. He fought to stay awake until he got an answer.

"How is he," Riley murmured, rejecting the doctor's response.

"Right now, he's in good hands. We've just been told he's already at the hospital."

Riley nodded and closed his eyes, fully expecting to pass out at any moment. Someone began to gently stroke his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Ben's family has been contacted…. Would you like us to contact your family now?"

Riley managed to shake his head, everything swirling around him.

"You already did," he muttered.

The exhaustion and trauma were too much and despite his worry for Ben, he let the darkness take him.

_-_

A/N: Meh. Not much happens besides Riley being traumatized, poor thing.

Argh, it was so hard to write about the Search and Rescue (SAR) and the helicopter! I looked up pictures to see what the interior looks like, read about SAR teams, even looked at videos about SAR on youtube! I had to rewrite a few things. Still this is not accurate to reality, please suspend your disbelief -_-;;;

Also ignore the story's continuity errors. If you didn't catch them, I'm not telling what they are :P

Big thanks to my beta reader for helping me out with this particularly annoying chapter.


	14. Fall Awake

A/N: Thank you to **EVERYONE **who's reviewed this story and sticking with it. Even when it took a rather dark turn (which is why I piled on the humor and fluff in the beginning). Anyways, you guys are what keeps me writing it. Special shout-out to my good friend and beta **Jedi'Pirate Jaeh **for being just awesome in general. Also thank you to me sister who re-beated this when my lappy died. More about that at the end.

I am SO sorry for taking so long to update ;( So much craziness… and this chapter is… blah ;(. Hope you somewhat like it. It's once again Riley-centric. Not much happens.

Notes: This is what I like to think of as Part II of the story. Not much violence from now on. Mostly family fluff angst.

_-_

Abigail Chase-Gates burst through the double doors of the hospital, her eyes wild and frightened. Patrick and Emily were close behind, desperately calling her name, but she didn't hear them. She couldn't hear anything other than the blood pounding in her ears and her own frenzied thoughts. If it were not for her fifth month pregnancy, she would have broken into a run. Instead, she marched up to the nearest unsuspecting doctor.

"Where's Benjamin Gates? And Riley Poole?" She demanded of him. The doctor looked confused for a moment. "I-I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't-"

"Where is my _husband_?! I have to see him!" She felt hands grip her shoulders and gently steer her away from the doctor

"Abigail, you need to calm down dear-" Emily tried to soothe her.

"No! I need to see him! I-"

Then, almost on cue, the double doors slammed open again. Abigail turned and her world may as well have stopped spinning.

The doctors and nurses hurried alongside a gurney, shouting instructions at one another. But she didn't care about them. Her eyes fell to the person who was strapped down to the table.

Ben.

As they moved past her it seemed like everything slowed down. For what seemed like an eternity, she stared at the still form of her husband. An oxygen mask was strapped over his nose and mouth, his eyes were closed. His body was oddly colored.

_Blue and purple. Why is it that color? It shouldn't be that color. Oh, God. Why does he look like that? What happened?_

Then she snapped out of her numbed shock and ran forward. "That's my husband, that's my husband! Please, tell me what happened!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, we need to get him into surgery-"

Patrick held her back as she tried to follow the gurney out of the room. She struggled, seeing Ben being taken further away.

"Abigail, please, you can't do anything!" Patrick tried to talk sense into her. Then the doctors and nurses and Ben, disappeared behind the doors. Abigail stood numbly, her body trembling. She turned and Patrick and Emily stared back at her, equally devastated. They stood there, not saying anything until a nurse took notice of them, and escorted the huddled family to the waiting room.

"Please, do you know how my son is doing?" asked Emily, staring at the nurse imploringly.

"I'm sorry ma'am," the nurse sighed. "I wish I could help you."

"Then how about another man… Riley Poole?" Patrick asked.

"No, I'm sorry," the nurse said regretfully. When she left, the three of them sat back in the plastic hospital chairs, still numb.

"I really wish we could see Riley," Abigail mumbled quietly, wiping a tear from her eye. "He's probably scared, all by himself here."

"Would they even tell us if something happened to him?" Emily wondered, uncharacteristically fiddling with her purse. "We're not family."

"I think, in a way, we are," Patrick replied sadly. "Maybe we're the only family he's got."

_-_

_What a terrible day. Not one book signed. So what if he wasn't Ben Gates? Didn't his handsomeness count for something? Cursing inwardly, Riley wheeled his books down the street to his little apartment. It was a strangely warm for early autumn. Riley felt sweat begin to trickle down the back of his neck. Grumbling, he took off his jacket and draped it over the carrier.  
"Hmm… that's odd." He slowed down slightly when he saw someone sitting on his front stoop. Speak of the devil; it was Benjamin Franklin Gates himself, nonchalantly reading a book. All for he best, Riley suddenly realized he locked himself out of his apartment. Again._

_He stopped in front of Ben and glanced down at what he was reading, hoping it was at least his book, _The Templar Treasure and Other Myths That Are True._ It would have made his day a little better. But nope, Ben was reading an obscure book on the Civil War. Riley felt a surge of disappointment and resentment in the pit of his stomach. _

Oh stop it Riley_, he scolded himself_. Ben came to visit you. Isn't that enough?

_Ben looked up, squinting slightly. "Where's the Ferrari?"_

_"IRS impounded it," Riley recounted miserably. His poor beautiful Ferrari…. _

"_The IRS?"_

_Ugh, he'd have to explain this too? Oh right, because this was the first time in a few weeks Ben visited him. _

"_Funny story…" Riley said lightly, and proceeded to tell Ben of his financial fiasco with his 'accountant'. When he finished he set the cardboard version of himself down and sighed. "Do you know what taxes are on five million dollars? Six million dollars."_

_Ben stared at him wordlessly._

_"But enough about me…" Riley sat down next to his friend with a smile. "What's new with you?" _

_Ben didn't say anything. His face suddenly contorted in pain. The book dropped from his hands and his arms wrapped around his stomach. _

"_Ben?! What's wrong? Speak to me, buddy!" Riley shouted anxiously, a hand immediately going to Ben's shoulder. _

"_Riley," Ben gasped. "I need your help."_

_Ben slumped further down and Riley repositioned himself in front of __his friend, both hands tightly gripping his shoulders, making sure he wouldn't fall forward. _

"_Ben? BEN!" Riley cried, his heart pounding. _

_A deep hacking cough shook Ben's body. Riley began to reach for his phone, but his hand came away, drenched in scarlet. Ben was covered in blood, and Riley's hand was also covered__with blood and he couldn't grip the phone right. He could only watch in horror as Ben collapsed onto the ground. _

_-_

Riley awoke with a gasp, cold sweat drenching his body. Consciousness flooded back to his senses like a slap. He lay there for a few moments, chest heaving. The details of the dream already began to fade, but it had been so real… he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Where was he anyway? He was warm… it felt like forever since he had been warm. His fingers closed around whatever he was laying on. Soft fabric. Sheets. He was on a bed. It was so nice to be in a bed. Even if the covers were a little starchy.

Riley squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, still disoriented. It was time to get to the bottom of this. With a huge amount of effort, he forced his eyes open. Beige colored walls surrounded him. Weird. Riley frowned and then winced as his head gave a sharp throb.

"Where am I?" he muttered out loud. It came out as a croak. Riley grimaced in annoyance and attempted to clear his throat.

"The hospital. You're safe now." That voice was so familiar, but Riley couldn't place it.

"Ow!" He flinched as his head gave another painful throb.

He tried to sit up when something jerked painfully in his arm and he realized a tube was attached to it. He fell back onto the pillow with a groan.

"Careful, don't want to pull that thing out." Riley looked around in increasing confusion for the familiar voice. Finally he spotted the source of the voice sitting on a chair next to his bed.

"Agent Sadusky?" Riley asked in disbelief. His own voice sounded horrible, like he had just swallowed sandpaper.

"You can call me Peter for right now." Sadusky replied with a smile, handing him a glass of water.

Riley took it gratefully. "Your first name isn't Agent?" Riley asked, before swallowing the water.

"That would confuse things, don't you think? Agent Agent Sadusky?"

"Maybe," Riley said thoughtfully. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't strain it. "So, uh… what are you doing here?" Even as Riley asked the question, he already knew the obvious answer.

"I just thought you'd want to see a familiar face when you woke up."

_Okay, not the answer I was expecting_, Riley thought. He asked a follow-up question."How did you…?"

"Get here?" Sadusky finished for him. Riley nodded.

"Well, I came as soon as I heard that the search and rescue found you and Ben. FBI transportation is quite reliable"

Riley's blue eyes suddenly widened in horror and his breathing escalated.

"Ben!" He half raised himself out of his bed again and let out a sharp cry of pain. Sadusky gripped his shoulder and lowered him back down.

"Easy, easy," he muttered as Riley stared at him with wide eyes. "Easy does it, Poole."

"What happened to him? Is he okay?" Riley asked anxiously. Sadusky didn't answer him at first, his eyes looking at the opposite wall.  
"Is he okay?" Riley asked again, his panic mounting. He almost sat bolt upright again, but Sadusky held down his shoulder. FBI agents had quick reflexes.

Sadusky sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair. "It depends on what you mean by 'okay'. He's not dead, which is by itself a miracle. He's in the ICU in a coma."

Riley let out a deep breath and stared up at the white ceiling, tears pricking in the corners of his eyes. He remembered painfully clear that the last time he saw Ben was when his friend was dying in his arms. Sadusky looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"You know Ben better then I do. And if I know one thing about him, it's that he's as stubborn as a mule. He's putting up a hell of a fight."

Riley gave a small tearful chuckle. He cleared his throat, not wanting to think about what could have happened to Ben. "C-Can I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"What…happened when me and Ben were…" Riley trailed off.

Sadusky nodded. "Once you and Ben didn't come back, the remaining people in your party contacted the authorities. Rescuers were dispatched but after two days, we were really starting to worry. Then they got the SOS from you and were able to track you down."

Riley's eyes once again were on the sheets. "So…. I guess you're here with the FBI."

Sadusky smiled sadly. "You and Ben were kidnapped and assaulted. Those are federal offenses." There was a brief pause as Sadusky studied Riley's face. The young man wasn't that surprised by Sadusky's next question.

"Riley… can you tell me what happened?" Sadusky asked gently. Riley looked at him blankly.

Sadusky watched the young man carefully. Riley was currently the only available witness to what happened. But by the way he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them; Sadusky knew Riley wasn't ready to speak.

"Please… I really…I can't talk about this right now…I'm sorry." Riley whispered sadly.

The gray-haired man sighed. _He's been through such an ordeal. Poor kid. _

"It'll be good to get it off your chest," Sadusky encouraged. Riley shrugged in a non-committal way and lowered his head into his arms. All he could think was that Ben had gone through worse.

"You don't have to talk about it right this second," Sadusky continued, "But I'm going to have to hear something soon. Just so you know."

"Fine," Riley said dully, his face still hidden. It was obvious Riley didn't want to talk any more about what had happened so Sadusky let it go. There was no point trying to force him to talk; it could easily cause more emotional distress. Sadusky leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital chair, observing the young man silently.

"Don't you have to go do some FBI things or whatever,' Riley asked thickly, wiping his face with the back of his uninjured hand.

"I'm allowed to check up on a friend, I think," Sadusky said with a smile. Riley blinked at him for a moment. He never considered this man a friend, or that Sadusky thought of _him _as a friend. Or did he? Riley felt his emotional defenses build and he stared angrily at his hands. He hated feeling like this whenever someone tried to get close, but his protective wall immediately went up.

They both sat in silence for a minute.

"I-Is… Abby and Emily and Patrick here?" Riley inquired softly.

"Yeah, they're here. You and Ben got here roughly the same time as them… and you've been sleeping for about a whole day. They've wanted to visit you but the doctors won't let them."

"Oh." Riley looked wistfully at his hands.

Sadusky sighed. The kid needed some sort of comfort and his closest friends weren't allowed to see him.

"Don't worry. As soon as I leave, I'll tell them you're awake." The relief was apparent on Riley's face. There was another moment of silence.

Riley finally looked over at the elderly agent and noticed the suspenders he was wearing. They had little monkeys on them.

"I like those suspenders." _Wow, I must pretty desperate for a topic of conversation._

"Yeah? My daughter got them for me. My favorite pair."

"You have a daughter?" Riley wasn't surprised. Sadusky seemed like a man who had children.

"Yup. She's thirty-one, lives in Florida. I also have a son. You remind me of him a little bit." It was probably the reason why he found Riley bruised and pale and attached to wires, more disturbing then he had anticipated**.** _God, if anyone ever hurt my children like that, someone's gonna die. _

Riley blinked at Sadusky, the faintest hints of a smile quirking on his lips. He seemed unsure of how to take the statement. "I do?"

"Yup. You're both insanely good with computers."

Riley's smile widened briefly before disappearing.

"You know," Sadusky continued thoughtfully, "If you could stop breaking into government property and stealing priceless artifacts, we could use someone with your skills in the FBI."

Riley perked up slightly. "Seriously? Agent Poole has a ring to it."

"Well, if you're ever interested give me a ring." Sadusky chuckled.

"I'll consider it. Later. When my head stops spinning. And the room too, for that matter."

Sadusky laughed and stood up. "I need to go now, but I'll be back soon."

"'Kay. Thanks Sadus-Peter. That sounds _really _weird to call you. Can I just call you Sadusky?"

"Don't hurt yourself over it," Sadusky chuckled. "Get some rest, Poole." Riley looked at the FBI agent, thanks reflected in his blue eyes. "Okay."

Sadusky smiled at him and gently closed the door.

_-_

The agent paused outside of Riley's hospital room, running a hand through his gray hair. Sighing, walked down the stark hallway, lost in thought.

He had spared Riley the details about Ben. The young man didn't need to hear them right after waking up. It hadn't been difficult for the agent to get the information. All he had to do was flash his FBI badge.

The doctors had said Ben was in a coma, but they didn't know for how long, or if he would even last much longer.

'It just depends now on his will to wake up' one had sighed.

Sadusky was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice that he was back in the waiting room. Looking up, he spotted a petite blond woman, slumped in a chair.

Abigail's face was drawn and pale. An abandoned magazine lay uselessly on the chair next to her as she stared blankly at the ceiling, eyes bloodshot and puffy. She didn't raise her head to see who approached her; she did not even seem to hear him.

"Abigail?" Sadusky finally asked after a few moments of silence. Abigail immediately jerked her head up, staring the agent as if he had dropped out of the ceiling.

"Peter," she gasped. "Do… you have any news?"

Sadusky helped the pregnant woman to her feet and smiled.

"Riley is awake... "

Relief flooded through Abigail's face. "Oh my god, is he okay?! Is he-"

Sadusky chuckled and interjected. "I think he's going to be okay. You can visit him soon, but not right now."  
"But I want to see him."

"And I know he really wants to see you and…" he trailed off and glanced around the waiting room. "Where are Mr. and Mrs. Gates?"

"Patrick took Emily for a walk outside… she needed a break. Spending a whole day in the place… I don't blame her." Abigail said softly.

Sadusky sighed and sat down in an empty chair next to Abigail."And how are you doing?"

"Oh, you know. Holding up," Abigail answered. The thin smile on her lips didn't match the brokenness in her eyes, as if her whole world was becoming unglued.

_-_

Riley thought it best to take Sadusky's advice and let his battered and tired body rest. But he didn't get much of it. He drifted in and out of an uneasy sleep, disturbing thoughts and images plaguing his mind. Then he jerked awake when he heard the soft click of the door. His heart hammered, and for a moment he had no idea where he was. Then he remembered, and sat up against the pillow to observe whoever just walked into the room.

"You're finally awake, Mr. Poole," the familiar doctor said brightly, looking happily at his patient.

"Dr. Waite,"Riley said, looking visibly relived. "You're my doctor?"

"Yup," Dr. Waite smiled. "Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," Riley replied. "You have terrific bedside manner."

The doctor chuckled. He knew Riley would feel safer and more comfortable with someone he had already developed trust with. And seeing what the young man had been through, someone with 'bedside manner' would be necessary for him.

The elderly man consulted his chart for a moment before pulling up a chair and sitting next to his patient. He observed Riley for a moment. He was paler than what would be considered healthy… his face was sweaty and he seemed a little shaky.

"Okay, Riley. I'm gonna check you over again. I need to make sure everything's healing properly."

Riley immediately tensed but just shrugged and nodded to the doctor. Dr. Waite had the sense to perform the checkup quickly. He gently took hold of Riley's fractured ankle. Riley winced and recoiled his leg.

"Sorry," he muttered, eyes cast down. It disturbed him how instinctively he reacted to that.

"That's okay," the doctor said, trying to reassure him. "You should see some of the other people here."

Riley smiled weakly at the doctor's attempt to cheer him up.

Dr. Waite continued his check-up and noted that Riley would tense up and flinch almost imperceptibly under the slightest touch, even if he wasn't examining a sore spot. Dr. Waite sighed, knowing there could be some psychological damage from the ordeal, or maybe even from before that. He didn't know and it wasn't his business.

"Riley, you can relax a little. You're very tense right now and it's making this more difficult then it needs to be."

"Sorry," Riley mumbled again, this time his face turning red.

When the doctor finished, he wrote a few things down on the chart.

"So… what's the prognosis, doc?" Riley asked. "Can I get out of here soon?" His voice was light, but the hurt and frustration showed behind his tired eyes. He just wanted to leave.

"It would be better if you stayed here a few more days for observation."

"But I want to leave," Riley scowled with and angry huff.

"Riley, it would make _me_ feel much better if you stayed."

The young man sighed and couldn't hide a smirk. "Okay, okay… if you insist…"

"Good," Dr. Waite smiled. "And Riley, it might be a good idea for you to talk to a psychologist or another specialist to help you work through some of this stuff."

Riley looked sharply at him. "What stuff? There's nothing to work through."

"You've gone through a traumatic situation-"

"Doc, I'm _fine_! I'm not a crazy person!"

"Okay," Dr. Waite said in a placating voice, holding his hands up. "Just a suggestion."

Riley sniffled again and lowered his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just rest up, take whatever the nurses give you. The sooner you do that, the sooner you get out of here."

"Okay, you're the doctor," Riley consented. As the doctor began to leave, Riley paused then called after him in a shaky voice. "C-Can my friends come in now? I really want to see them…"

The doctor smiled kindly at him. "Of course. I'll go tell them."

Riley sighed in relief. "Thank you."

_-_

Abigail and Sadusky looked up as an older doctor with a white beard approached them.

"Are you friends of Riley Poole?"

"Yes," Abigail asked breathlessly, standing up. Sadusky stood up next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He's fine, you can relax. But he could really use some company right now. Room 605."

Abigail nodded her thanks to the doctor before turning to Sadusky. "Peter… when Patrick and Emily get back can you tell them where I went?"

"Of course," Sadusky replied with a smile.

"Thank you," Abigail sighed. "You've been such a help for us."

"Ben and Riley are friends of mine," Sadusky told her. "I want them to be okay too." Abigail gave him a watery smile before turning and hurrying down the hallway.

Sadusky sighed and turned toward the doctor. He held up his badge. "I'm Chief Peter Sadusky of the FBI. Me and my agents are here looking into what happened with Gates and Poole."

Dr. Waite nodded in understanding. "They were assaulted. Riley told me in the helicopter who did it…Wilkinson, or something like that."

Sadusky nodded. "So far we know who, but we need more details about this. Poole has yet to tell me what happened, but I'm fairly certain he will soon. But right now, I need a copy of Riley Poole's and Ben Gates' medical charts."

"I'll get them for you right away," Dr. Waite told him.  
_-_

_Here it is. 605. _She took a deep breath and prepared herself before she entered. Slipping into the room, she felt tears come to her eyes at the sight of her friend. Riley was propped up on some pillows, staring blankly out the window, his legs pulled tightly to his chest. His face sported a colorful array of bruises, and angry contusions marred his neck. One hand was in a cast, the other arm was bandaged on its lower half and an IV was stuck in it. The hospital gown he wore was slightly baggy, and Abigail winced when she saw the beginning of a painful bruise on an exposed shoulder. She didn't want to think of how hurt he was hurt under the garment. He looked so small and vulnerable, the ugly bruises on his pale skin standing out.

"Riley?" she asked, almost awkwardly. She saw his eyes widen and he quickly turned toward her. When he saw who it was, fresh tears formed in his eyes.

"Abigail!" Riley cried. A feeling of sheer relief washed over him. It was so good to see her. Abigail threw herself forward and fiercely pulled him into an embrace.

"Ow, ow, please don't break any of my ribs."

"Sorry," she whispered thickly, loosening her grip. It sounded like she had been crying. Riley let out a quivering sigh and hugged her back. For the first time since waking up he felt he could breathe again.

"We were so scared…" Abigail murmured, still refusing to let go. "Sadusky told us…that…" she swallowed, blinking furiously. Riley patted her on the back.

"I'm glad you stopped by," Riley mumbled, his voice muffled by her shoulder. "The nurse won't even let me turn on the television without supervision…"

Abigail let out a tearful chuckle. She pretended to ignore the dampness gathering on her shoulder and his soft sniffles, but she planted a kiss on the back of his head.

They stayed like that for a minute until they broke apart. Riley scrubbed hurriedly his eyes with his palm. She ran a hand through his hair, looking him over. Her stomach felt more nauseated than usual on seeing her friend so bruised and pale. Riley shifted uncomfortably, realizing she was scrutinizing him.

"Hey, you're simply glowing," Riley said with a small grin. He wanted to cheer her up. Abigail smiled weakly and patted her swelling belly.

"Uh, can…can I…I mean if it's okay…?" Riley didn't really know how to word it without sounding awkward.

"Oh, stop it. Of course you can."

Riley grinned and reached out his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Hey there, future history geek," he began in a sing-song voice. "It's Uncle Riley. Don't worry; you'll be able to see your dad. He really misses you too. And your mom is being really brave. You should be proud of her." He looked back up at Abigail who had tears in her eyes, and was sniffing.

"He'll be okay, Abby," Riley reassured softly. She shook her head disbelievingly; how could _he _comfort _her _after everything he'd just been through?

"I-I know… b-but it's really hard…." She sniffed again and futilely wiped her eyes.

"Do you need another hug?" Riley asked, blinking sincerely at her. Abigail smiled and shook her head, small hiccups escaping her. "N-No…just… " Her lip trembled and she looked at him. Riley held his right hand out, palm up on the bed. She took it, and took a few deep breaths. Riley knew what she was doing. She had to calm herself down, because one small slip and she could break down completely.

A nurse suddenly bustled in, carrying a tray of food. Abigail hastily wiped her eyes as the nurse moved to the other side of the bed.

"Good to see you awake, Mr. Poole," the nurse chirped in a friendly voice. Riley eyed her warily as she set the tray down but relaxed when it appeared she wasn't there to examine him.

"Here's your lunch. If you need anything else just hit the call button." Then she swept back out of the room again. Riley blinked after her and looked down at his tray.

Abigail also glanced dubiously at the less than appetizing food. Any second now, she expected to hear Riley make some sort of smart remark about it. But what she saw on his face saddened her. _Hunger_. Riley took the fork and stabbed into the questionable rubbery vegetables. He proceeded to eat his meal without so much as a complaint.

"Riley," Abigail sighed. She hated seeing him so hurt and it made her blood boil to think that someone could inflict such damage on him. Riley put his fork down and leaned back on the bed, his face drawn.

Ever fiber of Abigail's being wanted to ask Riley what happened in the mountains. Sadusky had told her what the doctors wouldn't. The Wilkinsons attacked both of them. She wanted so badly to hear something from Riley. Anything. But when she looked at his bruises and drawn and pale face and tensed position, and especially his moist blue eyes, she couldn't bring herself to make him relive it.

Instead they sat there in silence for a few minutes, Abigail absently patting his functional hand.

Just then, the hospital door flung open again and the elder Gates couple hurried in, their expressions haggard.

"Emily… Patrick," Riley exclaimed.

"Hey, kiddo," Patrick greeted, smiling sadly.

Emily came up to the bed. Riley smiled up at her and she brushed back his shaggy hair.

"Thank the Lord you're okay," murmured Emily. "We thought…" She shook her head. "You're safe, that's what matters."

"Did you visit Ben yet?" Riley asked hoarsely.

"We're not allowed to see him," Patrick said miserably. "But they told us he's still in a coma." Patrick appeared older than Riley had ever seen him. He looked grimly at the young man.

"What happened, Riley? How did you get lost?"

Riley bit his lip and suddenly couldn't meet Patrick's eyes.

"Patrick," Emily said sharply, "Look at him. He's been through a lot. He doesn't need you badgering him about it."

"I want to know," Patrick said slowly, "What happened to my son."

The room went quiet for a few moments. Riley sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. _They deserve to know. They _need _know. And you need to stop being a baby. _

"Okay," he finally whispered. "Get Sadusky back in here. I don't want to tell this twice."  
_-_

A few minutes later, four people crowded around Riley's small hospital bed. Sadusky seated himself in a chair, the others doing the same thing. Riley squirmed slightly under their gazes.  
Sadusky scooted his chair closer and took out a small notepad and a pencil.

"Okay, Riley," he said with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "Ready when you are."

Riley nodded and blinked hard. Abigail took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. He even felt Patrick place a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"W-Well…" Riley was unsure of where to begin. After a moment he started talking. He told them about how the Wilkinsons captured them at gunpoint, his and Ben's disastrous attempt to escape. He told them about getting out of the Cave, and when Ben got hurt, and when the Wilkinsons recaptured them. How they walked at gunpoint, the whole time with Ben on the verge of collapse.

It became more difficult to speak because he didn't want to talk about how badly Ben was beaten, or what had nearly happened to them. He trailed off into silence for the first time since beginning the story.

"All right…" Sadusky said gently, knowing he would need prompting. The doctor had written something about Riley having defensive wounds and lacerations around his wrists. Sadusky sighed. This would be difficult. "What happened after that? Take your time."

Riley looked harder at the bed sheets. "He um, took me to a tree… and tied my hands together."

Sadusky looked at him intently, David Wilkinson's sadistic tendencies coming to the forefront of his mind. He looked back down at the Riley's medical information and scanned it quickly.

"What did he do?"

Riley stared at the bed sheets. "Um… I got beat up a little… "

Sadusky nodded, knowing this was a gross understatement. "What else, Riley?" he pressed gently.

"H-He just… he threatened me." Riley mumbled. 'He took out a pocket knife and threatened me."

"Did he cut you?"

"Yeah," Riley said softly.

Sadusky nodded again, scribbling something down in notebook.

Riley couldn't look up at anyone; it was so silent in the room. Patrick's grip on his shoulder hadn't relented, it was almost painfully tight.

"Okay… can you tell us what happened after that?"

\Riley swallowed the emotional lump in his throat. He just needed to get this over with.

"Seth came back… told David to help him finish Ben off…" Riley's eyes flashed angrily at the memory. "I-I somehow got free. I can't tell you how it happened, I don't know. And I grabbed the gun…."

"Did you see what happened to Ben?" Sadusky asked softly.

"Y-Yeah… of course I did!" Riley replied sharply. "I heard… I heard him screaming before I even saw him…" He sniffled and quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Emily handed him a tissue, which he gingerly took.. "A-And….they were… beating him… badly. They were going to kill him. I didn't know… what else to do… I had the gun… Ben told me not to shoot… but then David came at me… I shot him anyway."

Riley took a deep shuddering breath. "And…. then Ben and Seth… fought… Ben was telling me to run… but Seth had the gun… shot him…." A tear finally trickled down his bruised cheek. "Seth was going to kill me… throw me off the cliff… Ben shot him…. dragged me to safety…."

He buried his face in his hands. "H-He was hurt so badly…. dying in my arms…."  
Riley couldn't go on. He found himself trying to draw in deep breaths to regain composure; he felt about an inch away from having a meltdown.

"Oh, Riley…" he heard Abigail whisper in a choked voice and he felt her arms wrap around him.

"I-I'm sorry…" Riley croaked, raising his head out of his arms to look at Sadusky with moist eyes.

Sadusky nodded and immediately closed his notebook, seeing Riley couldn't go on. "It's okay, Riley. That's very brave what you just did. It's all over now."

Riley nodded, trying to take Sadusky's words to heart. The FBI agent patted Riley encouragingly on the shoulder and left his room for the second time that day. This time he felt better leaving Riley, knowing Riley's friends were in there with him.

_-_

Sadusky walked down the hall immersed the notes he just took. He saw someone fall into step with him, out of the corner of his eye.

"Did Poole give a disclosure?"

Sadusky glanced at the man beside him. "Yeah… here. Look at this. It's unbelievable."

Hendricks took the notebook and scanned Sadusky's notes. He was silent, but his expression grew troubled as he flipped the page. His stomach knotted slightly. "Oh god… it's some sort of miracle these guys survived."

Sadusky nodded. "I don't think Riley realizes how lucky he is. David Wilkinson has a known record of sadistic tendencies. And his cousin isn't much better."

"Yeah…I mean, look at this. David Wilkinson actually had him tied to a tree. And Riley got away somehow and grabbed the gun. The kid deserves some kind of medal of valor."

"He's braver than he gives himself credit for, I think," Sadusky said with a smile.

Hendricks looked back up at his boss. "What are the charges?"

"The felonies include kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery in the first degree. Not to mention, attempted…and, depending on what happens with Ben…a possible murder. If the perpetrators were still alive it is easily enough to put them away for life."

"So, both the men responsible for this… are dead?" Hendricks asked quietly.

"Seems so." Sadusky nodded to the notebook. "According to Riley's testimony, he and Ben had to shoot them in self-defense. "

"Geeze," Hendricks whispered, looking over Sadusky's notes. "And you believe Riley's story? He's the lone witness right now."

Sadusky let out another sigh. "When you've been in the business as long as I have, you can tell if someone is lying or not. Riley was not lying. This whole thing has legitimately traumatized him. It was hard for him, but he was able to tell me where he got his bruises and cuts from. That's not an easy thing to do."

After a moment Sadusky turned to Hendricks. "I want full background checks of every person who went with Ben and Riley on the expedition. According to Riley, there's more than a good chance of an inside man working with the Wilkinsons who posed as a crewmember."

Hendricks nodded. "Right away sir."

_-_

Patrick, Emily and Abigail sat quietly, listening to Riley's shallow breathing. Telling what happened to Sadusky seemed to take everything out of him. He didn't want to talk after that. When Sadusky left, Riley curled over to his side and closed his eyes tight. A few minutes later his body relaxed slightly and his breathing evened out.

Abigail blinked back her tears and sniffed. She rubbed her pregnant belly, where her and Ben's daughter was blissfully unaware of the chaos around her. Or maybe she _was_ aware. Her movements had not been as frequent ever since Abigail heard the news that Ben was lost in the mountains. Maybe she felt that her dad was in trouble and sensed something was wrong. Abigail shook her head. That was ridiculous.

She could hardly believe what she was hearing as Riley revealed the story to Sadusky. It was horrific, and her heart was heavy with too many emotions. She couldn't think about it right now. The thought of Ben, all alone… with tubes and wires…. That brief terrible glimpse she had of him being rushed into surgery… She couldn't take it anymore.

Abigail broke down, sobbing. She had been strong for Riley, and she wanted to be strong for Emily and Patrick, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. And her crazy hormones weren't helping anything.

Emily hugged her tight, whispering words of comfort in her ear. Finally, Abigail managed to gain control of herself, blowing her nose into a tissue.

"I-I'm sorry.. it's just everything is…"

"It's all wrong," Emily sighed. "I know. But don't you worry, sweetheart. It's going to be okay."

"We're just going to have to wait… and be here for Riley," Patrick murmured, putting a hand on his daughter-in-law's shoulder. "That's all we can do."

"I wish there was something more…" Abigail whispered, wiping her eyes a final time.

They stopped talking as Riley whimpered quietly in his sleep. He curled in on himself and shivered. Patrick sighed and tugged the sparse blankets over his tense form, tucking him in. It was going to be a long night.

_-_

A/N: It's spelled SADUSKY people. Not Sandusky or Saduski or Sedusky. Speaking of him, here's a **NT Fun Fact**! Sadusky actually has suspenders with monkeys XD. You see them in Sadusky's first appearance in Book of Secrets!

-

Chapter title from the song "Fall Awake" by The Echoing Green. The song inspired some of the mood for this chapter and future chapters.

-

**Important Note**

So… yeah. I was about to post this chapter and then my laptop died. Kablooie. All my stories and everything were on there. I don't know if I'll get them back. I had to re-correct this chapter, and I'll need to rewrite future chapters of this story. Please review if you're interested in me continuing this story, because at this point I'm really discouraged.


	15. In the Grey

A/N: 300 reviews huzzah XDD!! ( throws confetti) Thank you to **every single person ever **who reviewed. ^_^ I love you guys! Yeah, just as I suspected my hard drive was wiped. I was able to salvage a few things here and there that were still in my email and such, with the help from my awesome beta XD. But thanks, for the awesome encouraging words that helped me finish writing this chapter.

_-_

The few days that went by were torture on all of them. Ben continued to be taken in and out of surgery. None of the family wanted to leave the hospital to go to a hotel and actually get a decent night's sleep. Riley couldn't bear staying in his room much longer. He wanted to leave; he wanted to feel _useful_ instead of just laying there, but the hardest thing of all was waiting. It seemed that's all any of them were doing. Waiting to heal, waiting for news…. Waiting to see if Ben would be okay…just waiting.

Riley wanted to be strong. He wanted to be there for Abigail and Emily and Patrick. They were always there for him, even taking turns sitting with him at night so he wouldn't be by himself. Without them, he probably would have already gone insane in this place. The least he could do was be strong for them, like how Ben was strong. But Riley just felt like he did when he was a child, lost and afraid.

Riley sighed miserably, poking belatedly at the IV in his arm, then fell back on the pillow. He stared at the window where the curtains were glowing with morning sunlight.

"Good morning Riley," said the voice of his doctor. Riley was roused from his thoughts and looked up expressionlessly. "Hey," he answered quietly.

Dr. Waite looked at Riley briefly when there was none of his usual quips or complaints. Riley just stared despondently out the window, the light reflecting off his tired face.

Dr. Waite scooted a chair over and plopped down.

"Did you have trouble sleeping tonight?"

"Not particularly," Riley mumbled.

"No pain or anything?" Riley shook his head; figuring nightmares didn't count for physical pain.

"Okay, that's good." Dr. Waite consulted Riley's charts. 'The nurses say you've been eating all right … everything seems to be healing nicely." Dr. Waite smiled at Riley. "I think it's time to get you off the IV."

This actually got a brief smile out of the young man. "_Finally_. You know how much this thing itches? It's like a mosquito perpetually sucking my blood."

The doctor laughed and moved over to Riley's other side. "It's the opposite of that, Riley." He began to gently work at removing the IV, slowly peeling off the tape that secured it.

"Anything else going on?" Dr. Waite asked glancing at the young man. Riley winced at the stinging pain and shook his head. The doctor applied some alcohol to a cotton swab

"You still getting bad dreams?" he asked. Abigail told him that Riley slept restlessly, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night from a bad nightmare. It startled Abigail, but more than that, it concerned her.

Riley scowled at the covers. "You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm a doctor. It's my job."

Riley was hoping not to talk about this, but apparently his doctor spontaneously decided to become a psychologist. "So what if I am?"

"Well, I can always prescribe you with some medication if you want."

"No, I'm fine," Riley answered. _I've been dealing with this my whole life anyway. _

"Okay," Dr. Waite said, as he swabbed the wound hole. Then he opened the IV and carefully eased it out of Riley's arm. "Ta-dah. All done."

"That's it?" Riley asked incredulously "I didn't even feel it. The tape hurt more than that."

"What were you expecting?" Dr. Waite asked, taking off his gloves.

"Well, I don't know. Pain?"

Dr. Waite laughed a little at that. "I know you don't like hospitals, but not everyone here is out to get you. There's such a thing as pain-killers, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," Riley quipped.

"Now, if you're going to get up and walk around, you'll need to use a crutch for your ankle. Don't over-exert yourself."

"I guess my career in football will have to wait," Riley sighed. Dr. Waite smirked and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

The door to Riley's room opened again and Abigail walked in, carrying a bag in one hand. She approached Riley's bed and smiled encouragingly. Riley knew the smile was for him, that none of them really felt like smiling much. She sat down on the bed next to him and squeezed Riley's un-injured hand.

"Hi, Dr. Waite," she greeted. The elderly man smiled at her warmly. "Abigail. Your friend here is ready to join civilization again."

"About time," Riley snorted. "I'm getting stir crazy in here. There're only so many Spanish soap operas I can watch."

"All right," Dr. Waite told them. "I'll leave you two. Just hit the button if you need anything."

"Thanks doc," Riley said, his eyes following the doctor out of the room and he relaxed slightly. As much as Dr. Waite was a good doctor, Riley would never feel completely comfortable with one.

Abigail looked over at her wounded friend. He definitely seemed much better than he was when she first saw him. The bruises had faded slightly, and some of the color returned to his pale face.

"I have a surprise for you," Abigail told him, hoping this would somewhat brighten his spirits.

Riley immediately perked up. "Really? For me?" Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wait, is this a trick? It's gonna be one of those cans where the snake pops out if it, isn't it?"

Abigail rolled her eyes. "No, it's not a trick. Hang on." She rummaged around in the bag she brought in with her. Then she pulled out two black worn, but familiar, converse shoes.

A genuine smile slowly spread onto Riley's bruised face. He gently took the shoes from her. "Oh man, I missed these guys. I was wearing hiking boots the whole time… maybe that's a good thing now that I think about it…" Riley trailed off and looked up at Abigail. "Thanks, Abs," he said sincerely.

"It wasn't a problem," she replied and gave him a gentle side hug, still mindful of his injuries. "Before I left home, I grabbed some of your clothes you left in the guest room..."

"Awesome! Now I just need to change…." Riley coughed. Looking down at his hospital gown clad self he was suddenly intensely embarrassed.

"Er, do you want me to get a nurse or something-?"

"Noo," Riley moaned. "This is humiliating enough as it is."

"Okay, if you're sure you can handle it," Abigail conceded, watching him close the door to the small bathroom. She sat there for a few minutes, listening to his muffled cursing and winced when she heard a loud bang.

"Riley, are you okay?" she called worriedly.

"Fine, fine!" Riley yelped back.

Finally he emerged relatively unharmed, with all his clothes on in the proper places. Abigail couldn't help but smirk slightly as she went to give him his crutch.

"You figured it out all by yourself."

Riley rolled his eyes and sank onto the bed, tying his beloved converse shoes. At least trying to tie them the best he could with one hand. When Abigail attempted to help, he swatted her hand away.

"I got it… I'm not a little kid…" Riley trailed off and looked at Abigail, obviously troubled by something.

"It's broken."

"What is?" Abigail asked, glancing at him in concern.

"My shoelace…"

_-_

Emily shook herself awake for what seemed like the hundredth time. She would _not _allow herself to drift off to sleep. Not when her son was like this. When they first walked in the room he was being held in, she broke down crying. Bandages littered her son's body. One wrapped around his forehead, his torso, his shoulder. Anywhere there wasn't a bandage, bruises marred his skin. That part was almost as bad as the wires and tubes attached to him and the oxygen mask over his face. It hurt to look at him.

"Em." A soft voice and gentle arm around her shoulders brought her back to the present.

"You need to eat something. You've barely eaten in two days."

"Neither have you."

There was a pause and Emily turned toward Patrick. He looked way worse for wear. His eyes were red-rimmed and blood-shot. He smiled wearily at her. "I guess I haven't."

Emily sighed and leaned her head on Patrick's shoulder. "Oh Patrick…" she whispered. "How could have this happened?"

"I don't know, Em honey," Patrick said, kissing her on the head.

"It hurts to see him like this," she choked out. Patrick nodded into her glossy white hair. She linked her arm in his, a tear sliding out of her eye. _No parent should ever have to go through the pain of outliving their child_.

Patrick thought of his boy, whom he had his share of arguments with, but had never stopped loving. Not for an instant. All the fights he and Ben engaged in, emerged from his memory. Such regret, so many words throughout the years he wished he could take back. Why was it always like this? It always seemed he never knew what he had until it slipped away from him.

He was blessed enough to find Emily again… but his Father died, without things fully repaired between them. And he and Ben were finally repairing their relationship, but now there was a chance Patrick could lose him again.

Patrick closed his pain-filled eyes for a moment. Then he reached forward and gently stroked Ben's bruised fingers. "The bastards got off too easy," he said quietly. "If they were still alive, I would make them suffer for doing this…" There was a few moments of silence and he spoke to Emily in an almost inaudible voice, "I want to say so many things, Em. Do you think Ben knows that I…?"

Emily didn't need to ask what he meant. "Patrick, you both love each other with all your hearts. He knows." Patrick swallowed and squeezed Emily to himself with his other arm.

A small creak of the door suddenly cut through the heavy silence. The couple looked up to see Abigail gently usher a crutch-bound Riley into the room. She looked up sadly at Emily and Patrick. "He wanted to see him…"

Riley maneuvered to the bed and his eyes fell on the unmoving form of his best friend. His expression was nearly unreadable but he gently placed his hand on the blankets, his eyes going bright with tears.

Patrick stood up, and helped the injured young man onto one of the seats.

"Good to see you up and about Riley," Emily said quietly.

"Yeah… it feels good too…" Riley answered, although he felt horribly guilty for saying it. He stared at the still form of Ben and felt more tears sting his eyes.

A doctor walked into the room, breaking the reverie. She was short in stature and her black hair fell to about her shoulders, contrasting sharply with her white medical coat.

"Hello," she greeted the family, obviously trying to appear at least somewhat encouraging. "I'm Dr. Morton… I've been taking care of Ben for the last few days."

"How's our son doing?" Patrick asked huskily.

Dr. Morton walked over to Ben's side and let out a breath. "Okay. When he was first brought in, we found contusions on his arms, legs and torso which caused some internal bleeding, including three broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung. His collarbone is shattered, and a few of his other bones are fractured. He also had a nasty puncture wound in his shoulder which we stitched up, along with some various other cuts. Luckily we were able to keep the infection down." She looked up sympathetically at them. "We removed the bullet from his leg, and operated. The good news, it didn't go straight through his leg but skimmed his muscle. Bad news, this may leave some permanent nerve damage."

"But…he'll wake up, right?" Abigail asked, faint hope on her tear-streaked face. Riley put his arm around her in silent comfort. Dr. Morton's expression was careful not to betray any emotion. "I honestly cannot say. He went into cardiac arrest twice and we had to restart his heart. But right now, he's stable. And quite frankly, I'm astounded he's still alive. So, it's up in the air at this point. I can't tell you more, I'm sorry, I really am. I wish I knew."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Emily whispered, as she and Patrick clasped each other's hands.

"Well," Dr. Morton said after a pause. "Auditory stimulation has been known to be beneficial in these situations. Try talking to him… maybe hearing a familiar voice will help him."

Abigail looked at her comatose husband and felt a pang in the very center of her soul. She had no doubt that Ben would hear her, no matter where he was, even if that place was deep inside himself. She knew he wanted to see their daughter more than anything, and he simply wouldn't just give up. He wouldn't. Abigail realized belatedly that the doctor was still talking, and she had drifted off in her thoughts.

"I'll leave you alone now," Dr. Morton was saying. "But I'll be in to check on him every hour. If you need anything, just hit the call button."

"Thank you Doctor," Patrick said thickly.

Just like that, the room was quiet again, only broken by the steady beeping sounds from the machine Ben was hooked up to. Then another sound, a soft shuddering sob.

Abigail turned in time to see Riley bury his face in his hands.

"This is so stupid… " Riley whimpered. "I-I should be the one who's…If I hadn't… He was just trying to help…" Abigail furiously blinked back her own tears, linking his arm in hers

"Riley," Emily said in a voice Ben must have learned from her. "Look at me."

He raised his head to her, eyes puffy and blood-shot.

"Don't think for a second that this is your fault. Ben would _never _want you to blame yourself."

Riley looked at the elderly woman, his best friend's mother, who seemed to be holding it together better than he was. A tear slid down his face. "I know," he whispered.

_-_

Sadusky tapped his pen on the side of clipboard, frowning slightly. Having interviewed every person who went on the expedition, he had his ideas. And his agents were digging into the files of each and every one of them. He looked up and saw two of his agents, Spellman and Hendricks approach. Hendricks handed him with a Styrofoam cup of steaming liquid.

"I brought you some coffee, sir. Double latte, just how you like it."

"Great," Sadusky said taking the cup. "And I hope you happened to bring some of the research reports I asked for along with it."

"Oh, er, um," Hendricks stammered. Spellman rolled her eyes and whipped out the papers from a folder.

"Here you go sir, hot off the printer, just how you like it." Then she turned to Hendricks who grinned sheepishly at her.

"Don't get use to it," she snipped at her partner. "I'm not gonna cover your butt every time you forget something."

"Oh, like you've never forgotten anything. There was that one time-"

"Play nice you two," Sadusky said, fixing reading glasses at the end of his nose. Both agents looked at him anxiously as he scanned over the notes.

"Hmmm, now _that's _interesting," Sadusky muttered to himself.

"What is?" Hendricks asked, peering down at the document.

"Well, it seems that one of our fine friends, may have a _relation _to the Wilkinsons."

_-_

Riley sniffled and wiped away the stray tear on his bruised face.

"C-Can I have a minute with Ben?" he requested quietly.

"Of course sweetheart," Emily said gently. "We'll be right outside."

Then she leaned forward and pulled him into a motherly embrace. Riley swallowed hard, willing himself not to totally loose it and start bawling. He squeezed his eyes closed, and hugged her back. When they broke away, Emily gently wiped his eyes. "You'll be fine, "she said with a smile. "It'll be okay."

Riley nodded and Abigail and Patrick each took their turns gently hugging him before leaving them the room.

He was alone, and once again the only sounds were the steady beeping of a heart monitor and the machine that provided Ben oxygen.

Riley stared for a few moments, then sighed. Now that he was alone, he wasn't sure what to say. But the need to say something weighed so heavily on his heart that he spoke the first thing that came into his mind.

"Hey, buddy…" he began quietly. "I don't know if you can hear me or not… the doctor said it would be a good idea to talk to you… so here I am." Riley blinked back the tears that stubbornly kept resurfacing.

"We miss you over here, in the land of the living. It would be… really, really great if you could wake up now…" His voice broke and Riley wiped an escaped tear.

"Abigail needs you… she's going crazy with worry." He laughed softly. "So are your mom and dad. So am I…"

Riley swallowed the painful lump in his throat. "I'm trying to be strong for them, like you would. I really am. B-But…" The tears fell from his eyes, unwarranted. "I'm not you, Ben," Riley whispered. "I'm not strong or brave. I-I'm scared all the time…" Sniffing, he wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Y-You know, I'm not sure if I've ever told you this… but you're… really my only friend. You probably guessed that by now… but… you're the only guy I really trust…" His voice became choked at what he said next. "You're the big brother I always wanted… I can't lose you."

Riley bowed his head, resting his forehead on his palms. "Please, wake up Ben… we need you over here…wake up…"

Riley didn't know how long he remained like that, staring at his own converse sneakers. He knew he sounded like a little baby, but at this point he didn't care. He was about to lose the only real friend he had ever had.

A soft noise caught his attention. Riley looked up and blinked. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. But then he saw it, the slight rustle of fabric. Ben was stirring. Riley jumped up to his feet and nearly fell back down due to his ankle, if he hadn't caught the side of the chair.

Ben moaned and his eyes slowly cracked open. Riley's own eyes bugged out of his head and his jaw dropped.

"Ben?" Riley asked, hardly daring to breath. He knew Ben couldn't answer him back because of the oxygen mask, but communicating through eye blinking would have been acceptable for Riley right then.

"Ben?" Riley asked in a louder voice, staring intently at his friend's face.

Ben didn't respond to him, his glazed over eyes staring at the ceiling.

"Okay Ben, blink if you can hear me. One for yes, two for no." Riley tried. Still no response. Riley figured Ben was too pumped full of drugs to be aware of anything around him. But at the moment Riley was too excited to care. By some crazy miracle, Ben was awake. Riley reached over to hit the call button for Dr. Morton, but before he could reach it, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head. He fell to the floor and everything went black.

_-_

Sadusky quickly walked down the hall as the two younger agents hurried to keep up with him.

"Well, who was it?" Hendricks panted. "The suspense is killing me."

Sadusky smirked and handed the file to him. Hendricks looked through it. "Her? She was Ben's student!"

"Think about it," Sadusky said. "Wouldn't it be convinient to become someones's student? You'll immediately have an advantage over them. That's how she knew about the expedition, I'm guessing. She was one of Ben's top students."

"Makes sense I guess," Spellman muttered.

"Which is why we're paying her a little visit." Sadusky said.

"Sir!" The all looked up, as a harrowed looking police officer ran toward them. "Sir, One of the detainees has disappeared. We found an unconscious security guard nearby..."

Sadusky glanced at Hendricks and Spellman and none of them had to ask which one escaped.

"Get back to Gates' room, now!" Sadusky barked.

_-_

Heather watched the small form hit the ground with barely a sound, an almost regretful expression on her face. Riley wasn't supposed to get caught in the middle of this, but too late now. It was too late for anything. Adjusting her medical mask, she quickly walked over to the door and locked it. Looking around, she dragged a chair over to the door to act as a barricade. She would have do this, swiftly, sterilely and painlessly. A feeling of nausea twisted in her stomach but she brushed it away. _No, you need to just finish this now. Kill the bastard and get out. _She was honestly surprised no one had arrested her yet, but she knew it was only a matter of time now.

Stepping over Riley, she approached the hapless form on the hospital bed. Her heart stopped for a millisecond and she jumped back. _His eyes were open_.

"Damn," Heather hissed, a hand going over her now hammering heart. "Dammit, you're not supposed to be awake."

Ben wasn't exactly cognitive, but he was now now conscious enough to blink his glazed over eyes up at her. Heather stared down at her former professor, adrenaline surging through her body. Pushing away any doubts to carry out her personal vendetta, she grabbed at the tube connected to his oxygen and squeezed. There were a few moments where nothing happened, then pain crept into Ben's eyes as his air supply was cut off. The steady breathing into the oxygen mask grew harsh and his body involuntarily convulsed from the lack of air. The machine went haywire, beeping frantically. Heather grimaced, but didn't relent, watching as the man slowly suffocated.

"Leave him alone!" The voice surprised Heather, her grip loosened, and she snapped her head around. _Riley! I forgot about him! _

_-_

Riley groaned on the ground, confused and disoriented. His head was throbbing, and he wasn't sure how he got there. Then he realized something was very, very wrong. With a wince he opened his eyes and peered upwards. A person wearing scrubs and a surgical mask hovered over Ben. Riley began to force himself to his feet. _That person's no more a medical professional than I am a body-builder. _

"Wha…What are you doing?" Riley asked weakly

The person either didn't hear him, or ignored him. It was then that Riley noticed in horror that Ben's heart monitor was beeping erratically. Whatever was happening, he had to put a stop to it _now_.

"Hey…" Riley shouted, his voice growing in strength."Leave him alone!"

This seemed to get the attention of the intruder. The person whirled their head around to stare at him. Riley gritted his teeth and pulled himself into a standing position, his head still throbbing painfully.

"Leave him alone," Riley repeated in a dangerous voice.

The person started toward him, eyes narrowing and caught him by the collar. Riley was slammed into the wall, and the wind was knocked out of him. Then he was thrown into one of the chairs.

"Sit there and shut up or I'll shoot you."

Riley eyes widened. That voice… "You… Heather? What are you doing?"

Heather didn't even acknowledge him. Riley glanced quickly at the door, seeing she had barred it. No use trying to get out. Even if he started shouting for help, people wouldn't be able to break in on time.

Well, he wasn't going to sit there and do nothing. With a wince Riley pushed himself up again. He stumbled over to her and caught her by the arm. "What are you _doing_?!" he yelled at her.

Heather whirled around, this time pulling out a gun. "You wouldn't understand," she said and Riley was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I never wanted to go this far…. But there's no turning back now."

"Heather, just put the gun down-"

"_Don't patronize me_," she hissed and slammed the gun into the side of Riley's cheekbone. He staggered backwards onto the seat with grunt of pain. Heather glared down at him for a moment, then her expression softened behind the mask. "You're a good kid Poole, I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you try and stop me."

"Just tell me one thing," Riley said, teeth clenched in pain, holding his sore jaw. "Why are you doing this?"

"It doesn't concern you, Riley."

"Umm, if you want to kill my best friend, it does kind of concern me"

"Your _best friend _is a murderer and thief. He's no better than my cousins," Heather snapped.

"I won't deny the thief part, but Ben hasn't murdered anyone…" Riley trailed off and chose not to bring up Seth's untimely death.

"_Hasn't he_?" Heather's voice was livid again. Riley slowly inched himself back into a standing position, hoping his hurt ankle wouldn't make his leg buckle.

"Ben wouldn't-"

"_He took the one person I cared about away from me_!" Heather shouted at him, tears in her eyes.

"Who?" Riley whispered.

"MY BROTHER!"

Realization hit Riley like a ton of bricks. After a moment of silence, Riley spoke to her again. "Mitch was your brother," he said gently.

Heather glared at him furiously. "He wasn't a bad man. He wasn't. He was a lot like Ben actually." She pointed an excusing finger at Ben. "And yet my cousins told me how he killed Mitch!"

Riley gasped. _What did they do, brainwash her? Is she just crazy?_ "Your _cousins_ told you that?!"

"Yeah, and they told me about the plan to get the treasure from him and I agreed. I swear Riley, I didn't want you to get caught up this."

"Kind of late for that!" Riley said, slowly creeping toward Heather's other side. "And you can't seriously believe what those two guys told you!"

"It's true!" Heather cried out angrily.

"No, it's' not!" Riley snapped. "I was _there _Heather! I saw what happened! Ben was trying to get him out-"

"Shut up-"

"But he couldn't hold the door open anymore, and Mitch drowned-"

"SHUT UP!" The gun was jabbed into Riley's chest and he felt the cold edge every time he exhaled.

"Heather," he said in one last attempt to reason with her, "Ben didn't kill Mitch. In fact your brother acted heroically, he sacrificed himself to get us out."

"Why should I believe you?"

"And why should you believe those two psychos you call your cousins?"

Heather looked at Riley for a long moment, and then her eyes hardened. "I believe them more then I believe you right now. You're just trying to save your friend. Now get out of my way."

Riley glared at her. "No."

She pressed the gun harder into his chest. "Move."

"No."

Heather clicked the gun, now desperate to end all of this. But instead of aiming it at Riley, she took aim at Ben. Riley, having only a split second to react, threw himself in front of Ben. If she wanted to kill Ben, she would have to kill him first.

Riley stayed in his position for a few seconds, eyes squeezed closed, before he realized the gun hadn't gone off. When he opened his eyes, Heather was staring at him, gun lowered to the side.

"Well, dammit."

"Heather?"

"Damn you, Riley Poole."

She wandered over to one of the chairs and sank down. "You and him…. have what me and Mitch had. I can't take that away from someone else."  
Riley hesitated, then carefully limped over to her and sat down, warily watching the gun.

"Heather…"

Heather smiled hollowly at the gun. "He would… he would have these crazy ideas… and I would try to talk him out of it… but he would still go through with it… and I would help him because he was my brother and I loved him, you know?"

Riley nodded at her. "It's a pain, having a sibling like that."

"Crazy, crazy," she whispered to herself. "He was always crazy…" Then she broke down sobbing. Riley hesitated then put a hand on her shoulder. After a few moments he tried to tug the gun away from her.

Heather yanked the gun away from him, which wasn't hard because it was his injured hand.

"Heather," Riley said evenly. "The FBI is right outside. You can give up without resistance, you know."

"It's too late," she said in an eerily calm voice.

"No it's not," Riley said firmly. "Just give me the gun."

"It's too late," she said again within the same voice. Then she raised the gun to the side of her head.

Riley's eyes widened in shock and he automatically lurched forward to stop her. "Heather, don't!"

_-_

"One more shove should do it," Sadusky said calmly. He ignored the crowd of doctors, nurses and patients standing around him. Luckily the local police had been called in to make sure no one interfered. Sadusky was slightly regretful this included the Gates family who were now frantic with worry, but it was for their own safety.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion from inside the room, unmistakably a gunshot.

"Get it open, now!" Sadusky shouted.

The two agents stepped backward and gave the door a final shove, breaking it in. Sadusky entered, gun at the ready. His eyes quickly scanned the scene, and what he saw made him gasp.

Riley was attempting to wrestle a gun out of Heather's hand, but was quickly loosing the fight because of his injuries. The gun had misfired and left a gaping hole in the ceiling, but thankfully harmed no one. The agents immediately drew out their own guns, shouting at Heather to lay down her weapon. She did without so much as a complaint and was immediately apprehended. She was hustled out of the room, but she didn't resist them. She seemed in shock.

Riley stood unsteadily, his chest heaving as he panted. He watched as the woman who had caused them all so much trouble was taken away. Riley trembled as his hammering heart slowed and his adrenaline level calmed down.

"Are you hurt?" Riley looked around dazedly and realized that Sadusky was standing in front of him, frowning concernedly. The concern was warranted when he noticed blood trickling down the side of Riley's head.

"Umm… I'm, uh…." Riley mumbled in confusion. Suddenly, his legs went out from under him and he would have hit the ground for a second time that day if Sadusky hadn't caught him. Riley was placed onto a seat and he heard Sadusky calling for someone to get Dr. Waite.

The next thing Riley knew, the good doctor was kneeling in front of him and shining a bright light into his eye.

"What did I tell you about extraneous activities, Mr. Poole?"

"Can't keep a good man down, doc," Riley said groggily. "And can you please stop shining that light in my eyes?"

Dr. Waite smiled and stepped away from his patient. "A minor concussion. Nothing serious."

"That's good," Riley mumbled. He wouldn't be able to stand going back to that claustrophobic hospital room. Something cold was suddenly slapped on his head and he jumped in alarm.

"What's this?"

"Ice pack. Hold it there so the bump will go down."

Riley sighed and did as instructed, and for the first time was able to concentrate on the other people in the room. There were a few officers still milling around, and Ben's doctor had arrived again. Riley turned to Ben, scared that what happened before was too good to be true. But ben seemed in the same state of partial-awareness and he hadn't fallen back into a coma. The sight sent a surge of hope through Riley, and gave him an unexpected amount of energy.

Riley actually smirked in amusement as Dr. Morton desperately tried in vain to get the agents out of the hospital room. "There's not enough room for so many people in here! My patient needs to be examined! Please conduct your investigation elsewhere!"

It didn't look like the agents were going anywhere, however. Sadusky gave a shrill whistle, which caused everyone in the room to look at him, and Riley to wince.

"Concussed patient over here," he muttered in annoyance.

"Okay guys. That's enough for right now. The doctor needs to check her patient."

As they were filing the room, a commotion came from outside. Abigail suddenly burst in, literally knocking down two FBI agents as she rushed to Ben's side. Sadusky was baffled at how she could have bypassed the police stationed outside, but Riley just grinned to himself and shook his head. Good ol' Abigail

"That witch didn't hurt him, right?" she nearly shrieked. "Is he okay?"

"He's okay Abigail," Sadusky said soothingly, steering her away by the arms. Riley tried to stand up, but was pushed back down by Dr. Waite. Riley groaned in annoyance and opted for shouting across the room, which actually wasn't that big, but at the moment crowded.

"Abigail!" Riley called. Abigail caught sight of him, hurried over, apprehension clearly written on her features. She peered into his face, scrutinizing him.

"You're okay Riley?" she asked worriedly, her German accent sounding more prominent than usual.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me Abs."

"I swear, I'm never letting either of you step a foot outside-"

"Listen!" Riley interrupted breathlessly. "Ben woke up!"

Abigail's jaw dropped and she whipped her head around to hear the confirmation from Dr. Morton. She smiled at Abigail. "Right now he's still on the morphine, so not very responsive, but yes. This is a very good thing."

Abigail turned back to Riley, tears in her eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. "He's awake," she whispered, and gave Riley what must have been his fiftieth hug for that day. Riley held her tight as she began to sob in relief. "He's awake." They hung onto each other, as Abigail whispered those two words over and over.

_-_

A/N: I sort of wrote myself into a corner with the whole 'betrayer in the group' thing so hopefully this is okay. Please review! :)


	16. Many Meetings

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you to **my wonderful reviewers! **Especially to those who have consistently reviewed.. The people who review this story keep me writing it, so they get my luvs and my hugs

Thanks to my beta and sister for looking this chapter over. It's mostly a filler...and I don't like it that much and didn't want to post it but here you go. T.T

_-_

The first thing that filtered into his consciousness was a repeating high-pitched sound. It was irritating, drifting through his mind. He struggled for consciousness, wanting to be rid of the noise, to figure out where he was and what was going on. But the more he struggled for consciousness, the more he realized it was becoming difficult. It was hurting him.

Everything was heavy and aching; his body felt sick. A low moan escaped Ben's throat and he tried to shift his position, but found he couldn't. Something was restraining him. It was more than a little worrisome. Ben mustered a huge amount of effort, and cracked open his eyes. Blurry figures moved above him. He tried to speak to them but it felt like something was choking him. Now he was beginning to panic, and his breathing escalated. It was like missing a step in the dark. He had no idea what was going on or where he was.

"It's okay, sweetheart," whispered a voice he instantly recognized. "I'm here."

A gentle soothing hand stroked his cheek, calming him down. _Abigail._ He figured if Abigail was there, everything had to be okay. He closed his eyes, comforted by her touch and slipped once again into unconsciousness.

_-_

When he woke again, the tube in his throat was gone, which was a huge relief. Ben took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slowly. His body felt like it was made of wet sand.

Something felt wrong…. He knew he was forgetting something vital…something terrible must have happened, but he couldn't exactly put a finger on it…

His eyes opened and a woman he didn't recognize stood over him with a clipboard.

"Mr. Gates? I'm your doctor. Dr. Morton. Can you hear me?"

Ben nodded slowly, painfully.

The woman beamed at him. "Mr. Gates, it's good to have you back. You've been out of it for a week."

A week? Ben thought, shocked. His family would be worried sick. His throat felt like someone poured gravel into it, but he managed to speak.

"Can…I see…my family?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and it sapped a lot of his energy.

Dr. Morton looked at him sympathetically. "We need to run some more tests on you. But it should only take a few hours."

A few hours? Ben didn't think he could hold on that long. "Please…" he whispered.

Dr. Morton smiled sadly. "I'll see what I can do, Ben. Okay?"

Ben scarcely nodded, his eyes fluttering closed.

_-_

The Gates family waited outside of Ben's hospital room, as they anxiously listened to Dr. Morton telling them what to expect.

"Now… just to warn you, he's still really out of it. We're trying to slowly take him off the drugs…" Dr. Morton explained to them. "He requested to see you and I can only allow you in for a few minutes; we have certain regulations about the number of visitors..."

"We just want to see him," Emily said, looking sharply at the doctor. Dr. Morton shifted uncomfortably under her intense gaze. Riley almost felt bad for Dr. Morton. Emily could be very intimidating if she wanted to be.

"All right... Please keep you voices down. And don't touch him right now."

All of them quietly walked into the was sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed, no longer attached to an oxygen mask or as many wires as before. He breathed easily, his slow steady breathing accompanied by the beeps of the heart monitor.

"Ben…. " Emily whispered, a hand going over her mouth. "Oh, Ben…"

Ben stirred and slowly opened his eyes, blinking sluggishly at them.

"Mom?" he mumbled. She hurried over to his side. It took every ounce of restraint not to scoop him up in her arms and hold him. "Yes, yes, I'm here Benjamin. It's okay…"

They watched as his eyes slid over each person, and he looked even more confused.

"Dad…Abby…?" Ben let out a breath. "I hope… I'm not dead… because that would mean you're dead too…"

Patrick laughed in the pure relief that his boy was okay. "Far from it, Ben."

Ben turned his glazed eyes to Abigail, and his lips twitched upward. "I love you, honey," he whispered.

Abigail didn't bother to wipe away the happy tears from her cheeks. "I love you too."

When Ben spotted Riley, who was hanging back, his expression changed into an almost fearful one.

"They…" Ben started to say. "They didn't… hurt you, right?"

Riley shook his head. "I'm okay, Ben," he said gently.

"I-I… don't want you to be hurt, Riley…"

"Don't worry, Ben. I'm okay," Riley reassured.

"That's good…" Ben whispered with a smile. He leaned back on the pillow and closed his eyes. "That's good…"

After a few moments, his breathing evened out and he fell back asleep.

Dr. Morton began to gently escort the tiny family out of the hospital room. Abigail remained stubbornly in place.

"I want to stay with him."

"Under the circumstances I don't think-"

"I want to stay with him," Abigail repeated. Her voice left no room for argument.

"It's best not to argue with her," Riley advised Dr. Morton. He wanted to add, "Not unless you want your head bitten off," but restrained himself. It was amazing how alike Abigail was to Emily. The poor doctor was getting a full dose of the Gates patented stubbornness.

Dr. Morton looked harried for a moment then sighed and smiled at Abigail. "All right, Mrs. Gates. It's understandable you want to stay with him. You can stay overnight if you want, but you'll need to fill out a few forms later."

"Thank you, doctor," Abigail said in gratitude. Dr. Morton nodded and left the family to attend to her other patients. Abigail looked at her in-laws and Riley. "You guys should go to the hotel for some actual sleep." They all began to protest at once.

"But we don't want to leave-"

"What if he wakes up again?"

"What if something happens?"

"GUYS!" Abigail raised her voice and they fell silent. "Please. He's okay…we all need sleep." She was worried about Patrick and Emily. At their age going too long without sleep must have been painfully exhausting. And Riley had to rest because of his injuries.

She stared at them all imploringly. "Please?"

They stood in glum silence for a moment until Patrick spoke up. "You're right, Abigail. Ben's okay and that's what matters. But we'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Of course," Abigail smiled. They took turns saying goodbye to each other. She gave Riley a gentle hug, mindful of his numerous injuries.

As she watched him leave she was once again struck with a thought that chilled her to the bone. She could have lost Riley. She could have lost Ben. _Ben_. She turned back to her now peacefully dosing husband and took his hand in hers, assuring herself that he was still alive. Then she leaned forward on the sheets, and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly.

_-_

Emily and Patrick walked down the hall, feeling more awake then they had in the last few days, despite the fact they were running on little to no sleep. Riley walked after them, or in his case, hobbled after them.

"Guys, I'm on crutches. Give me a break here," Riley complained as they once again pulled ahead of him.

For the third time, the elderly couple had to stop and wait for him to catch up. Riley crutched speedily up to them, then halted and glared.

"Thanks for waiting."

"Sorry, Riles," Patrick said in amusement. He knew that Riley was secretly happy to be with them. _Probably because, well, there's nowhere else for him to really go, is there? _Patrick thought with a pang of sympathy for the kid.

"So, I don't know about you," Riley prattled on, "But I'm in the mood for something besides hospital food..." Emily smiled down at the young man. It was amazing how integrated he was in their life. He had made his way into their hearts, and he seemed now an extended member of the Gates family just as much as Abigail was, almost like an adopted son.

"Hmm…I could go for some pizza…" Patrick said thoughtfully.

Emily rapped him on the shoulder. "You're on a diet!"

"Em, pizza has everything! The sauce is vegetable, and the cheese is dairy…"

"You know that dairy of any kind wreaks havoc on your-"

"Come on guys," Riley whined. "I'm too hungry for you to be fighting. Riley wants food."

"Okay, okay…where do you want to go and eat?" Patrick sighed.

Before Riley could answer someone called his name from behind.

"Riley! Hey, Riley!"

He turned and gasped. Three members of the expedition team approached him… Nathan, Joshua and Dr. Higgins! He had forgotten about them. They stopped in front of him and there was a moment of awkward silence. They seemed completely dumbstruck at his beat-up appearance. Patrick looked suspiciously at the newcomers. After everything that happened, he had the right to be suspicious.

Riley coughed. "Hey guys."

Nathan spoke up first. "Riley… hey, man. I'm… really sorry. I mean… we tried to get in contact with you and Ben… and we had no idea about Heather. It was a shock to all of us when we heard she was in on it."

"I know," Riley sighed. "And thanks for going back and getting help."

"Well, we're glad you're okay," Nathan grinned. He almost clapped Riley on the back, but then thought better of it.

"So Riley," Dr. Higgins began. "Did you happen to find the treasure?"

"Hey! Shut up, man!" Joshua snapped at him. "He doesn't have to tell you anything." Dr. Higgins seemed shocked that Joshua, a very mild-mannered person, just told him to shut up.

Riley grinned at Joshua. "Thanks for that. But, yes we found it." A dark look flitted over his face, but it was quickly gone. "I don't want to talk about it right now but I'll send you information, and what to expect. I'm not going back, and I can vouch for Ben and say neither is he."

"Okay," Nathan agreed, nodding in understanding. "That's more than enough on your part." Nathan looked behind Riley and noticed Emily and Patrick standing protectively behind him.

"Oh, and these must be your parents?"

Riley's looked saddened and he glanced behind himself at Emily and Patrick. Emily smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. "Close enough."

The expression on Riley's face was the happiest she had seen it in days.  
_-_

Abigail woke with a stiff neck. Actually, she felt stiff all over. Someone gently stroked away the hair that stuck to her face. She mumbled something in annoyance. Then her eyes snapped open. She saw Ben, smiling weakly at her, despite his black-and-blue face. His eyes no longer held that drug-induced glaze.

"Ben?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yup," he answered quietly. His voice made her wince.

"Let me get you some water," she said.

"It's okay…" he whispered. "I'd rather… you just stay here with me."

"It'll take two seconds."

"Too long."

Abigail smiled. "I'm getting you water."

She quickly filled up a plastic cup, the whole time looking over her shoulder at him. Then she sat back down and carefully placed her hand on the back of his head to support him. He took the water from her with a shaking hand. Abigail helped guide the cup to his aching lips. He swallowed a sip then coughed harshly. She gently rubbed his back, waiting for the spasm to pass.

Ben took a deep breath and gazed up at her in simple adoration. He reached up and brushed back her hair affectionately. Her beautiful hair…it caught the hall light so perfectly. Framed her like an angel.

"How's our baby?" he whispered. In response she took his hand and gently placed in on her stomach. With a thrill of joy, he felt a single tiny kick from the baby.

"She's happy to see you," Abigail answered with a glowing smile.

Ben eyes misted over and he rubbed her stomach lovingly.

"My girls…" he murmured softly. Abigail gently placed her hand over his, as it rested on her stomach. Ben's eyes were shining as he gazed at her, taking in everything about her. But he was tired, and Abigail watched as his eyes slowly drooped again.

Sighing, she stood up to go get a nurse, figuring someone should be alerted he was awake. Then she felt his hand weakly grip her wrist, almost in a childlike manner.

"Don't go." Ben murmured tiredly. "Please, can you stay? Stay here with me for a little while." Her husband had his eyes fixated on her, not wanting her to leave his sight.

Abigail answered by carefully lifting herself up on the hospital bed next to him; mindful of the wires he was connected to. He turned his head and they both looked into each other's eyes.

"I missed you," he whispered hoarsely.

"Me too," Abigail said softly. "I was so scared… that I would never see you again… that I would lose you…" her eyes filled with tears. "They hurt you so badly," she murmured sadly, a tear falling from her eye.

"It's okay, Abby… I'm here now," he smiled softly lifting a finger to brush the tear from her face. "I'm never going to leave you again....I promise."

Abigail wanted to kiss him, so badly, yet even his lip was bruised. So she leaned forward and tenderly kissed him on the cheek. Ben smiled and looped the closest arm around Abigail. He held her tightly, as if he let her go she would vanish. They both snuggled close to each other and Ben let out a contented sigh. He lightly kissed her on the head.

"Your hair smells good," he muttered, nuzzling her cheek.

"It's that conditioner you like."

"Mm. The cranberry scented one."

The pain didn't matter anymore; it was a mere annoyance in the background. This moment was so perfect; he didn't want it to end. He honestly thought he'd never see her again, and now she rested in his arms.

He was fighting off his exhaustion, wanting to spend every waking moment looking at her. But the fatigue was winning out and his blue eyes closed slowly, still fastened to hers.

Abigail began to sing something to him in German with her husky quiet voice. It was a folk song her mother used to sing to her when she was little.

Ben gave a soft sigh, his eyes growing heavier and heavier. Finally she heard his breathing even out and his chest rose and fell peacefully. She kept singing gently to him, her arms around him and ran her hand through his brown hair. Then she relaxed next to him and closed her eyes. Soon they both drifted off in each other's arms.

When the Patrick, Emily and Riley came in the next morning, they found both of them sound asleep in the white hospital room.

_-_

A/N: Rock-a-bye Ben! ^_^ A little Ben/Abby fluffy gooiness there. He needs a little break… before what's to come :D

Props to whoever knows where the chapter title is from. Sooo... yeah. *cough* I know it's bad. Please review anywway? :D Also, there's about three chapters left, including the epilogue, in case you were wondering how long this will drag out for.


	17. Homeward

A/N: I'm really REALLY sorry for taking so long to update T_T. Part of the reason is I hate this chapter (I'll whine about it more in the A/N at the end). Yup. It sat there on my desktop all beated for the longest time before I actually started editing. I apologize for the amount of scene changes. Just roll with it.

_-_

Ben slept on and off for the next few days, and when he wasn't sleeping he was in pain. The painkillers given to him by the nurses only did so much, and the doctor told him his broken bones and torn muscles would take awhile to heal. There was at least some good news when Dr. Morton had told him he was ready to fly back home to D.C, which was fine by everyone. All of them were more than happy to leave, especially Ben and Riley. As far as both of them were concerned, they had had their fill of New Mexico

The few days leading up to their departure were busy for everyone else, except Ben. He was stuck in the hospital bed. At least one person was consistently at his side, so he was never alone, and it helped distract his mind from things he didn't want to think about. There were a few unexpected visitors, including Sadusky (who sent him the best regards from the President).Mostly, he was content with just talking with his family, because when they were gone, and when he was alone, that was when the memories bombarded him.

The day before they were to leave for Washington, D.C. Riley was sitting in a chair next to Ben's bed, happily chattering about finally going home.

"Oh man, it'll be great to get back to my computer. I think I could type in my sleep because I miss her so much."

"Her?" Ben asked, with a kind of half-smile. He hadn't done much of that lately.

"Sure! Her name's Bathilda. Don't ask. Long story. Everyone should name their laptop, Ben."

Ben smiled again, but it was a small smile and it didn't meet his looked over at Riley, taking in his bruises, his cuts. Over the last few days, had been noticing them more and more, until every time Riley came into the room they were difficult to look 's throat felt tight as he stared at Riley's hands. He had never asked Riley what happened when David took him away, but the evidence was the fading ragged scabs encircling his friend's wrists.

Riley had been grinning at him, but his smile faltered, seeing the distant, troubled expression on Ben's face.

"Ben?" Riley questioned tentatively.

"Hm?" Ben looked at Riley vaguely. Even though he faced Riley, Ben's eyes still seemed far away somewhere.

"You okay?" Riley asked, now definitely concerned something was wrong.

"Yeah…" Ben muttered. Although both of them knew he obviously wasn't 'okay'.

"You sure?" Riley knew Ben wasn't going to admit anything at that moment, but it was worth a shot.

"Yes, I'm fine," Ben answered irritably. He didn't like it when people kept asking him what was wrong at the drop of a pin.

"If you say so…" Riley said doubtfully. Ben sighed, feeling guilty he was pushing away Riley like this. But he couldn't even look at Riley without feeling guilty, and Riley's concern for him made Ben feel even worse. He didn't even deserve to be his friend after what happened.

_-_

"Hi, honey!" Abigail chirped, bustling into the hospital room. She swooped down and pecked him lightly on the cheek. "Now, for the plane ride I have all your stuff ready, don't worry. Here're your painkillers, and the Civil War book you like…"

Ben couldn't help but chuckle weakly. "Do you know how much like a mom you sound right now?"

Abigail pretended to be affronted but her eyes shined at him. "I'm just looking out for my husband's well being, like a good wife should, right?" she said sarcastically.

"Yes dear," Ben winked.

"You silly man, you." Abigail kissed him again, setting down the bag and taking his hand. She studied him carefully. It was so good to see him smiling, but there was still theexhaustedglaze in his eyes that she hated so much. She wished she could just hold him until all the hurt went away.

"Dr. Morton is just going to come in here and give some instructions, I think. Then we'll be on our way, okay?" she told him. Ben just nodded a little, but didn't say anything. That was another thing Abigail hated. Ben would talk to them, but not the conversational, animated way he usually did. He was quiet, but not in the way he was when pondering or marveling at a clue or a piece of history. His quietness was withdrawn, almost anti-social. _Give it time_, Abigail told herself. _He needs time to heal._

_-_

The family was once again assembled in the hospital, anxious to hear the doctor's news and leave for home. Dr. Morton cleared her throat and sat down in front of the family.

"I'm just going to get to the point, Mr. Gates…" Dr. Morton took a breath and looked steadily her patient, who looked just as steadily back.

"There's some bad news…I'm afraid I have to ask you… do you do any rigorous physical activity, such as sports?"

Ben felt a small knot in his stomach from the question. "Well… yes. I'm a treasure hunter… I hike and I dive…" Ben searched Dr. Morton's face for some reassurance. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"We managed to remove the bullet in your leg. But… I'm afraid it embedded itself too deeply into the muscle. There's going to be permanent damage."

"What… do you mean?" Ben asked after a pause, still not processing the statement.

"I mean," Dr. Morton explained, "That it will be difficult for you to do any of those activities again. It will take a few months for you to get back on your feet, but you won't be able to exert your right leg. You most likely will have a severe handicap."

"You mean…" Ben began, processing what she was saying. "I can't… do all those things? I won't even be able to walk right?"

Dr. Morton nodded at him, a sad look in her eyes. There was a long, shocked silence in the room. Ben didn't look up at his parents or Abigail or Riley. He actually felt a little dizzy, and had to clutch the sheets on the bed to ground himself.

"Surely there's some way…" His mother began to say, in a disbelieving voice.

"There are physical therapies and similar things he needs to start right away…"

Ben didn't hear anything else that was said. He was drawing a blank. Treasure hunting was practically his life; he breathed it for as long as he could remember. Not all of it was strenuous physical activity. In fact, most of it wasn't. But the actual hunt. The thrill of the hunt! Nothing compared to that feeling in Ben's mind. And now… it was gone.

Ben suddenly felt like someone sucker punched him in the gut. He felt weak and winded.

"Can I be alone right now?" Ben requested dazedly.

"Of course," the doctor said understandingly.

Ben didn't see or hear his family leave, didn't notice their sorrowful stares and tears. All he could think about was the night, ages ago, when his grandfather sat him down and told him of a treasure beyond all imagining…

_-_

The day after that, nearly three weeks after arriving in this hospital, they took a plane back home. It was a medium sized plane, but it was private, the trip paid for by the Historical Society of New Mexico.

Ben was well enough to be put in a wheelchair, which was intensely embarrassing for him. This whole thing had dashed his dignity to the ground and then stomped on it for good measure. Ever since he received the news from Dr. Morton, Ben had barely said a word to any Riley or his parents or even his wife. Ben knew he was being selfish but he couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone, even if they were worried about him…

_-_

Patrick sighed and leaned back in the small seat of the plane. He checked the time on his cell phone. ­2:23 AM. _Oh Lord, I'm too old to be up this late_. Everyone else was sound asleep. Abigail had her head on Riley's shoulder and Riley's face was mashed into a pillow, where he snored faintly. The loud drone of the airplane was the only sound besides that.

Emily had dosed off, and she rested against a window window. Patrick gently lifted her head and tucked a pillow beneath it. He smoothed down her hair and then leaned slouched back, sighing to himself.

The main reason Patrick didn't want to sleep was because of Ben. His son lay in a portable bed, to make him more comfortable. Ben had fallen into an uneasy sleep, sometime after midnight. Patrick sat silently, watching him sleep. Maybe it was his fraternal instinct to protect his boy, even though he was in no immediate danger, but he wanted to make sure Ben was okay.

The silence was suddenly broken when Ben moaned and turned to the side, tortured by something in his own head. Patrick blinked back tears, wondering what his son was dreaming about.

_-_

_Ben was back in the mountains. Seth was there again, hitting him every time he had the chance. _

_When Seth struck him, Ben was vaguely aware of him shouting down, "..come on Gates! Beg for me! I want to hear you beg!" Another kick to his injured side and Ben moaned, curling his body into itself. A harsh laugh and his hair was yanked back, then someone spat in his face. "You think you're better than anyone else?" _

_  
A violent backhand across the face sent him back to the ground. Ben tried to edge away from his attacker but he was pinned down._

"_You can't beg? Will your _pride _or your _dignity_ not let you?" Another blow. And another. It was unrelenting. Ben wasn't sure how much more his broken body could take. Ben heard someone muttering pathetically. It was himself "Stop." _

_Seth leaned down over him, flipping him over so he was facing upwards and not in a defensive position. He struck Ben across the face. "What did you say?" Ben closed his eyes and shuddered. He was struck again._

_Ben's eyes opened weakly. "P-Please… don't hit me anymore," he whispered.__"I-I have… a wife… and a child… please d-don't…don't do this." _

_  
"Well, you should be proud: at least you didn't beg for yourself!" Seth sneered. Ben could barely move but every time he did, pain flared in his body everywhere he was beaten._

"_I'm going to go see how my cousin is doing with your little friend. Don't go anywhere now," he laughed and gave him a last cruel kick for good measure. Ben heard the footfalls on the dirt getting further and further away. He let out a pained moan as consciousness flickered in and out of his vision. He managed to pull his body close to himself. "Oh god… Riley… I'm so sorry…" _

Ben woke up with gasp, his heart pounding his chest. Then he felt someone grasp his shoulder. Ben recoiled and flailed an arm over his head to protect himself.

"Wake up, Ben." His father's voice. Ben's eyes snapped open and he stared up into Patrick Gates' concerned eyes.

"Ben?" he asked in concern. Still panting, Ben glanced around and remembered he was in the interior of the plane, far away from the mountains. _I'm okay_, he told himself. _I'm going home_…

He realized his father was still sitting there, staring at him. Ben lookedanywhere but his father's worried face.

"Son…" Patrick said softly. Ben sighed and ran a hand over his tired face, then winced slightly when he unintentionally touched a bruise.

"It's nothing to worry about, just a bad dream. It's okay." Ben explained, in what he hoped was a reasonable voice. Ben looked at his father again and was shocked at what he was such anger and grief, plainly written on Patrick's features.

"No, it's not okay." Patrick growled. "It's not okay!" His voice nearly became a shout and Ben winced slightly at the tone. They both looked around at the others, hoping no one had woken up.

Patrick closed his eyes for a brief moment and when he spoke again his voice was significantly softer. "Someone hurt my boy. Someone hurt you bad enough to put you in a coma and make you have nightmares about it." Patrick looked fiercely into Ben's eyes.

"If they were still alive I would track them down and kill them again for nearly taking you away from me. I almost lost you, Ben! I almost lost you and there are so many things I need to say!"

"Dad-"

"Let me finish, Ben. Seeing you for the first time in that hospital bad, with all those… tubes and wires… it was easily the scariest moment of my life. And your mother's."

Patrick's eyes were now red and full of tears. "I love you, Ben. I know we haven't seen eye to eye on everything… but I don't express that sentiment enough to you. You mean the world to me."

Ben was silent for a moment, blinking hard. He didn't trust to let himself speak.

"Dad," he finally answered, his voice cracking. "I love you too."

Silently, they both embraced each other, Patrick rubbing Ben's back. Patrick looked at Ben's bruises, and at the bandages wrapped around his injured leg.

"It'll be okay, kiddo," he soothed. "It'll be okay."

_-_

"Ah, here we are," Riley exclaimed, hopping out of the van. "Good ol' Gates mansion." He stretched as best he could with a crutch. With some effort he managed to get his small book bag onto his shoulders.

"Riley…you shouldn't be exerting yourself let me help you…" Emily fussed, hurrying to his side. Riley rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her. "It's okay _mom. _I think I got it. Besides…" Riley lowered his voice. "Ben is being stubborn again." Emily turned and saw Ben batting away Abigail's and Patrick's help as the tried to get him from the van into the wheelchair.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ben complained. Riley stepped forward, a twinkle in his eye."Where have I heard that before, Ben?" he asked. "Come on, buddy. Nothing wrong with accepting a little help now and then, right?"

"I don't _need-_"

"Ben, don't make me go Crutch-Fu on you," Riley warned.

Ben rolled his eyes but relented, while everyone else snorted in laughter.

"Good job with persuasion, Riley," Abigail complimented, after Ben got onto the wheelchair, with some assistance.

"Well you know the old saying, 'never mess with a man on crutches'." Riley said sagely. Abigail watched Ben wheel himself up the driveway, his parents close in tow. She turned to Riley, and lowered her voice, eyes now sad.

"Riley… I'm so worried about him… I know he'll be okay, but…" she sighed. "I can already see how much this kills him."

Riley looked at Ben's retreating form. "Don't worry, Abby," he told her, trying to make his voice encouraging. "Ben's indestructible. He'll be okay."

_-_

It felt amazingly good to be back home for Riley. Although the house wasn't technically his home, he'd spent enough time there for it to count. After a few days, he actually graduated from one crutch to none. But it wasn't as easy on his best friend.

Ben started physical therapy and he had insisted that no one be anywhere near the room while it was going on. He was at least speaking to them now, but his heart wasn't into it, Riley could tell. When his parents or Abigail tried to bring up what happened, Ben would either snap at them or not answer. It was heartbreaking, to say the least.

One day, Abigail caught up with Riley, as he was pulling out his keys to get into his helped him get his mind off things. When he drove he didn't have to worry about what people thought when they saw his fading bruises, and he didn't have to think about the recent ordeal he had just been through. He just drove along the Potomac River or the green edges of Maryland, and his troubles seemed to dissolve temporarily.

"Riley, I-I need to ask you something," Abigail said quietly.

"What, Abs?" Riley asked her, slightly alarmed by her tone.

"Can you try to talk to Ben?" she asked. "Something… is really bothering him. Not just the physical therapy. I think he needs to talk about what happened. He… he won't talk to me, or Pat or Em…. But there's a good chance he'll talk to you."

Riley looked away for a didn't want to make Ben relive what happened. When Riley retold the events, it had been incredibly difficult and painful. But he knew Abigail was right. Ben wasn't was bothering him deep down, and he needed to talk about it with someone. Riley knew he was probably the person who would understand him best.

"You're right," Riley sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'll… I'll talk to him now."

"Now?" Abigail asked, her eyes wide.

"If not now, then when?" Riley shrugged. "Where is he?"

"He's in sleeping in the bedroom, I think." Abigail said quietly. "You know how tired he's been lately…" She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I-I still see that excitement I love in him, when we're talking about the baby. I think she's the only thing keeping him from losing it," she whispered.

Riley swallowed and hugged Abigail. "He'll be okay," Riley told her. "He… he just has a lot of crap to sort through, you know?"

Abigail nodded, a tear running down her cheek. "I feel like I'm losing him again."

"He still loves you, Abigail. Nothing can change that."

Abigail pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "I-I know… " she sniffed and looked into Riley's face. "Thank you for everything."

_-_

Riley found Ben where Abigail said he would be. But he wasn't asleep. He was staring out the window, the now familiar disassociated expression on his face.

Riley knocked twice on the open door. "Hey, Ben," he said softly. "Can I come in?"

Ben started, and looked at the doorway where Riley stood. Then he shrugged. "Sure."

Riley came in and sat down at the edge of the bed. He pondered what to say for a moment, and then decided not to beat around the bush. Ben hated it when people did that.

"They're worried about you, you know."

Ben sighed, looking at Riley. "I know."

"You don't talk to them," Riley stated the obvious, his blue eyes studying Ben intently.

"I know." Ben couldn't look back at him.

"Why not?"

"Abigail put you up to this, didn't she?"

Riley shook his head. "At this point, it doesn't matter. And you didn't answer my question."

Ben sighed again and closed his eyes. "I can't. It hurts me, but it would kill them."

Riley bit his lip. "They probably have a good idea what happened, Ben."

"Maybe, but it would be different hearing it from me."

"If you can't talk to them, you should at least tell someone else." Ben didn't respond, so Riley continued. "You can talk to me. You know that."

Ben ran a hand over his face, wincing as he accidentally brushed against a bruise. "Yeah…" he sighed.

"So what's up?" Riley pressed, hoping Ben wouldn't close off again.

"Besides the fact I can barely walk, I'm in pain all the time and my career as a treasure hunter is over?"

"Is there something else?" Riley asked softly.

Ben stared at him for a moment. "I-I…. Yeah. Yes, there is." Riley sat there, waiting patiently.

Ben sighed. "I…keep flashing back… to… you know…"

"To what David and Seth did," Riley stated knowingly. Ben nodded miserably. There was silence for a few moments and then Riley spoke up.

"It helps if you talk about it," Riley said quietly. "If you, you know, tell what happened."

Ben scowled. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It hurts at first… but-"

"I said I didn't want to talk about it."

"It would be a good idea to tell what-"

"You want to know what happened, Riley?!" Ben suddenly snapped, turning to his friend. Riley closed his mouth in shock.

"They beat me within an inch of my life and then made me _beg _for them to stop! They wouldn't stop, Riley! They just kept beating me and beating me, and I've never felt that much pain in my entire life! They hurt me and humiliated me! And the whole time I was just thinking I wanted to see Abigail again… I wanted to be there when she had the baby… And then they were going to hurt you too… and they did hurt you and I wanted to protect you… but I couldn't do anything!"

Riley waited until Ben's outburst subsided and tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. "I am _so _sorry that happened to you," Riley said softly, his eyes wet. "It's terrible and wrong. But you can't blame yourself for what happened."

Ben looked at him for a moment before turning his bruised face to look out the window.

"I know you, Ben," Riley continued. "And I know you did everything humanly possible for us. It's not your fault."

"But Riley… when he was taking you away… I never felt so helpless… I couldn't stop…." Ben clenched his hands on the bed into fists. "They could've… God, they could've…."

For a moment Ben sounded so distraught, Riley was afraid he would actually start to cry. But he just continued to stare out the window with the glazed over look in his eyes. Riley looked at him sadly, and realized with a sense of guilt how blind he had been.

He expected Ben to be the superhero, like he always was. But Ben was traumatized from the whole ordeal. _Aren't you the one who told him, 'you're not superman'? _Riley thought. It was horribly unnerving to see Ben in this state, but Riley took a deep breath, knowing he had to be strong for his friend right now.

"Ben," he said. "Look at me, buddy." Ben slowly turned to Riley.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Okay?" Riley said in a firm voice. "You saved my life. Multiple times."

Ben sat there for a moment. Then he took Riley by surprise and tugged Riley into a hug, as tight as his injuries would allow.

"I'm sorry," Ben sighed. Riley hugged Ben back and shook his head. "Not your fault."

"Maybe," Ben said doubtfully. "But I have to convince myself of that." He patted Riley on the back. After a moment, he continued.

"A-And… without you… I wouldn't have been able to see Abigail… or my little girl. You saved my life, too."

"Not before you saved mine," Riley said with a small shaky laugh.

Ben held him tight. "Thank you," he whispered. Those two words were so powerful.

They stayed like that for a long moment, before breaking apart.

Riley cleared his throat. He looked up at Ben, but he couldn't help but still feel concerned. "Are you going to be okay, Ben?"

Ben paused for a few moments. "I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"Well… you know, we're all here for you to talk to. If you want." Riley looked down at his hands. "Sorry for not helping more, but I'm not a therapist."

Ben patted Riley on the shoulder. "Riley, you did help me. More than you'll know."

Riley, smiled slightly, but was unsure of what to say to that. "So, I was about to take the Ferrari out for a ride. Want to come with?"

Ben hesitated for a moment then smiled. "Sure, Riley. That sounds great."

_-_

A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I went on vacation to Washington D.C. (yes, I was geeking out), then I started another story with **Jaeh**, which was a nice break from this one actually (shameless self-promotion: link to it is on my profile page. Do not read if you don't like gratuitous Riley angst and have a weak stomach), and then school started. So yeah.

But this chapter caused so many problems for me, more than any other. I didn't even want to look at it anymore, and it came to a point where I didn't care if it sucked I just wanted to post it and get it over with, because it was kind of ridiculous how long it was taking.

Btw, thank you to those who stuck around this long to read and review this story! I keep updating for you guys. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to update. It's mostly written out, so yeah.

Thank you sooooo much to **Jaeh **for being the best beta ever and being so patient with me when I constantly ranted and raved about how much I didn't like the chapter. Thanks also to my sister who betaed because I needed all the help I could get T_T.


	18. Devotion

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone. One more chapter after this one.**

_-_

Riley gently eased himself next to Abigail at the kitchen table. "Do you want some coffee," he asked her softly.

"No," she protested, waving a hand at him. "You shouldn't be moving around so much right now."

Riley shrugged and stood up, going over to the counter.

"Your doctor said to take it easy," she continued.

"I doubt making a cup of coffee would be considered _exertion._" He rolled his eyes. "Besides I need to stretch my sore muscles from being cooped up for so long."

Abigail sighed and shook her head in amusement. The only sound in the kitchen was the coffee brewing and after a while Riley poured the coffee into two maroon mugs and sat down next to Abigail, placing one infront of her. They sat for a moment in comfortable silence. Abigail stared into her mug of coffee, letting the warmth seep into her fingers.

"So…" Riley tapped his fingers on the mug, glancing side long at Abigail. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Abigail placed down her mug and leaned her head in her hand. "Riley, you talked to Ben, right? Why won't he tell me what happened? Why does he insist on being so stubborn?"

Riley let out a breath. "He's ashamed, Abs. He feels like he shouldn't be in such a vulnerable position, especially with the baby on the way. He doesn't want to expose you to his weakness."

Abigail looked at Riley in surprise. Riley shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "I play psychoanalyst."

"But… it's not even his fault!"

For some reason a flicker of pain appeared in Riley's eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "No, it's not. But he can't help feeling like that, and it's going to take a while to get over."

Abigail clutched her fingers to her hair, blinking back angry tears. She wasn't sure what she was angry at, maybe everything.

"Abby," Riley said softly. "Crap like this can affect someone more deeply than you would think; believe me, I know. And the best thing anyone can do is not force them to talk about it; you have to let them open up to you in their own time."

Abigail looked up quickly into Riley's face. It was bruised and honest, and with a start she realized that the pain in his eyes was world-weary. This wasn't new to him; he had been through trauma before. It made sense, she realized. It was why he seemed to have experience and know what he was talking about because of something from his own past.

Sighing heavily, she nodded. "Just one more thing Riley."

"What's that?" Riley asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Abigail reached forward and hugged him tightly.

"What's wrong?" Riley sounded confused more than startled.

"I felt you just needed a hug. That's all." _  
_

Riley was silent for a moment which caused Abigail to worry a little. Then he spoke up, "Eesh, Abigail. I don't know if it's your motherly instincts on over-drive for the baby, but you've been really huggy lately."

"So, I'm allowed to be motherly. Now hush."

It didn't surprise Abigail when she heard a small sniffle from Riley a few moments later.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah…" he muttered, finally pulling away. "It's getting too mushy here for my tastes."

She smiled and shook her head. _Riley, Riley, Riley. Sometimes you can't even take your own advice. _

"I was about to make some soup. You want some?"

"Sure! I should stick around and chaperon, make sure you don't burn the stove like last time. How do you manage to catch something on fire making _soup_?"

"Riley…"

_-_

Later that night Abigail sat on her bed, watching Ben as inconspicuously as possible from over her book.

He slowly made his way toward bed, and grimacing in pain, managed to pull himself under the sheets.

"Ben," Abigail murmured softly.

Ben rolled over to his side and faced her, his dark blue eyes piercing her heart with their gaze.

She leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips over his._"Ich liebe dich_," she whispered. Ben let out a deep sigh that seemed to come from the depths of his soul. He leaned into her embrace, and rested his head on her collarbone.

"I love you too," Ben whispered, squeezing her hand. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, then moved down to her stomach and kissed it too. "Love you too, little miss."

Abigail laughed softly, tears in her eyes, and planted a gentle kiss on his temple.

Sometimes she would wake in the middle of the night to find him in pain, or in the throes of a nightmare. He always brushed it off, said he could handle it, that it was nothing. He didn't accept her attempts to comfort him.

She was frustrated at first, that he wouldn't confide in her. But now, what Riley told her made sense. It seemed he wanted to make up for his disability by pushing himself beyond his limits, physically, doing whatever he could for her, and their baby. Sometimes he exerted himself too hard, and it worried her.

She curled up next to Ben, draping an arm over him, hoping at least for a night he would be able to sleep easy…

_-_

_Everything was confusion and noise. Ben dove behind a rock for cover, clutching his rifle in a death grip. The enemy was everywhere and he couldn't find a position to hold himself in. He didn't know why he was here, or what he was doing anymore. _

_Through the chaos he heard someone scream "Lieutenant!" _

_Ben snapped his head up, because he recognized the voice. Riley ran toward him, wearing a blue union uniform. It was now nearly gray from dust. Riley's face was covered in dirt and grime. His expression was one of panic. _

"We can't hold our position," he gasped. "They're-"

"_GET DOWN!" Ben screamed as musket rifle thundered. But it was too late. Riley fell to the ground, chest covered in blood. Ben bent over him in horror. _

"_NO!" he shouted desperately. "Riley! Please, hold on!" _

_Riley blinked up at him weakly. Dark rusty blood blossomed on his chest and Ben tried to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. _

"_Hurts," Riley moaned. His face drained of color, leaving it as deathly white as the dust surrounding them. _

"_I know," Ben choked, tears beginning to run down his cheeks. "__You were never supposed to be hurt. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."_

_Riley coughed harshly, his body writhing on the ground and getting more covered in dirt and dust. Agonized blue eyes gazed beseechingly up at Ben. _

"_Water…?" Riley rasped. It was then that Ben noticed how dry and chapped his friend's lips were. Ben frantically checked his belt and pulled a canteen off. As carefully as he could he lifted Riley's head and brought the canteen to his lips. And nothing came out. One or two drops of water fell into Riley's parched mouth. _

_The young man stared at Ben for a moment. His bright blue eyes shone with pain. Then they closed _

"_NO!" Ben cried, gathering the limp body into his arms. "No, please! Riley, I'm sorry!"_

_He closed his eyes and buried his face in the dust-covered brown hair. "I'm sorry…" he said again in a strangled whisper._

_-_

Ben awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright on the bed. He looked around wildly for a moment until he spotted Abigail sleeping peacefully beside him. He fell back onto the pillow, trying to calm his racing heart. He closed his eyes, listening to dull patter of rain on the windows.

Rolling over to his side, he stared at his slumbering wife**.** The reflections of rain patterned across the bed sheets and her skin. He lay there, not wanting to move or feel anything. But the nightmare was still vivid in his mind. He rolled off the bed and slipped into the wheelchair and rolled over to the door. As quietly as he could, he slipped from the room, not wanting to wake up Abigail.

God, what was wrong with him? He was over this…. What happened was in the past, so why did his subconscious keep torturing him with it? Every time he fell asleep he was at the mercy of two lunatics being beaten and watching Riley being dragged off to be god knows what. Sometimes his subconscious decided to torture him even more, and his parents and Abigail appeared in the nightmares. In every single dream his loved ones died and there was _nothing_ he could do about it.

And he couldn't deal with it. He hated it. He hated the Wilkinsons for hurting him, for nearly taking him away from his loved ones. He hated them for hurting Riley. But he mostly hated himself. Hated himself for letting it happen. For not stopping it.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the faint light coming from Riley's room. He wondered if Riley was awake at this hour. Frowning worriedly, he gently turned the doorknob and cracked the door open, peering inside. Riley was curled up on the bed, sleeping soundly although the covers were strewn about. A nightlight turned on next to his bed. Ben clicked the door closed; silently relieved his friend wasn't having the same trouble sleeping.

Sighing, he continued down the hallway until he reached the banister, leading down the staircase. He suddenly felt a wave of anger come over him. He didn't want to be confined anymore. Why couldn't he do this on his own? Grasping the banister, he began to haul himself up before stabbing pain seared through his midsection and his leg buckled.

Ben sank onto the ground in dismay and frustration. Everything from the last few weeks seemed to accumulate inside him and he felt tears fill his eyes. Leaning against the banister, he buried his face in his arms.

A light flicked on. Ben hastily attempted to hide his distress, but did a miserable job.

"Darling?" Emily was standing in the doorway in a robe with a concerned look on her face.

"Mom," Ben said in an unsteady voice. Emily felt her heart break at the sight of her son in this state. Her eyes went from the wheelchair to the banister, to her distraught son on the ground and she quickly put the pieces together.

Hurrying over she knelt down next to him. It wasn't the time to reprimand him for not getting anyone to help him.

"Dearest, are you okay?" She asked in gentle worry, dabbing at a tear that escaped his eye. Ben shook his head; everything felt like it was falling apart for him.

"No, I'm not. I'm not okay…" he muttered.

"Why? What's wrong?" asked Emily gently. Ben gave up trying to repress his tears.

"I-I can't…do anything!" Ben croaked.

Emily gathered up her son into a hug. Something came loose in Ben's chest and he began to cry.

"I'm s-sorry…Mom," he whispered. "I'm just…."

Emily was rubbing small circles into his back, comforting him. "You cry. It's okay darling. You cry your heart out."

Ben leaned into his mother's embrace and Emily felt his tears as she held him in her arms, rocking him tenderly. She realized how traumatized Ben was from the whole ordeal and wanted nothing more than to take his pain away. But this wasn't like falling off a bike and skinning a knee where a band-aid and kiss made it better. It went deep, and the hurt didn't heal easily.

Ben attempted to regain composure, hating himself for his pathetic break down.

"I'm so _weak_," he muttered disgustedly at himself. "I just…I wanted to do something myself without help … I want to do things I took for granted…"

"Oh Benjamin," she said using her fond name for him. "You're not weak. You're the furthest thing from being weak."

"But…I don't know what to do, Mom," Ben said, his voice hoarse. "I need to take care of Abby….and the baby! How can I do that if I can't even _walk_?"

Emily held her son tight. This was the first time he was talking to her about what was bothering him.

"It's a slow process. That's what the physical therapist said. You can't rush yourself. And all of us, me, your father, Abigail and Riley…we're going to help you through this. You're going to be fine, okay sweetheart?"

Ben let out a shuddering sigh. "Yeah. Yeah I know. I'm sorry, Mom."

"Oh, don't be darling. Don't be." She held him close for a few more moments and they stayed like that in silence, broken only by the occasional sniffle from Ben. Then she held him out at arm's length. "Now, why don't I make us some hot chocolate?"

Ben gave her a small smile. It was something his mother used to do for him when he was little. "With marshmallows?"

"What a silly question, of course with marshmallows."

Ben began to lift himself back up, and his mother quickly came to his aid. Step by step, they made it down the stairs. He was afraid he'd make her stumble but she didn't. She went back up the stairs, folded the wheelchair, and carried it down again. Smiling his thanks at her, he got back on and rolled into the kitchen. His mother followed him and started a kettle of hot water on the stove.

"Here, take this for your pain," Emily said, handing him his medication. Ben sighed to himself but took it and drank it down with the water his mother handed to him.

"So… just another three months," Emily said, busying herself with making the hot chocolate. It took Ben a moment to realize what she was talking about.

"Oh, yeah. Abigail's so excited." he said with a smile but it faded. Emily glanced at her son. His eyes had a faraway look to them.

"You know," she began. "When I was pregnant with you, your father was a complete mess. He was scared he would be a terrible father."

Ben glanced up at her. " I know what you're trying to do mom…"

"Then you know that everything will be fine. You're going to be an amazing father."

"Thanks," Ben smiled. Emily smiled back at him and placed the steaming mug down on the table.

"Is everything okay down here?" A tired voice said from the doorway to the hallway. Riley stood there, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Ben chuckled at the sight of his friend. He was wearing his Batman pajama bottoms, a white t-shirt and his hair stuck out wildly in all directions. On his feet were blue slippers and he clutched a pillow under one arm.

"Good early morning to you!" Emily cheerily greeted the young man.

"But isn't it night…?" Riley muttered in confusion trying to process this statement

Then he spotted Ben and his expression hardened with worry. "Ben, are you okay?"

Ben realized his face was probably blotchy and it looked like he'd been crying. Great. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Riley, do you want some hot chocolate?" Emily asked, figuring Ben could use the company.

"Absolutely, Couldn't sleep anyway." Riley answered, taking a seat at the table beside Ben. His face still held a hint of concern but he seemed to have figured not to press Ben for information, which Ben was thankful for.

"Bad dream?" Ben asked sympathetically.

"Yeah…" Riley answered, his eyes far off for a moment. Then he smiled and turned to Ben.

"So hot chocolate huh? I always thought you were the coffee sort of person."

"I am." Ben grinned. "Mom just insisted."

"No complaints here."

"You want marshmallows Riley dear?" Emily asked.

"No thanks." Riley said, making a face.

"You don't like marshmallows? " Ben asked in surprise.

"Meh. Not much of a fan."

"I thought you'd jump at an opportunity to get sugar."

"Hey, I pick and choose my sugar sources carefully."

Another sound in the doorway caught everyone's attention.

"What's going on here?" Patrick mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He spotted Ben and walked across the kitchen, scooting a chair across from him. He smiled and patted Ben's hand lightly.

"Hey, Em, don't I get some of that hot chocolate?" he complained.

"Wait your turn, Riley gets one first."

Riley grinned. "Yeah, wait your turn."

Patrick huffed and crossed his arms.

"Why is everyone up? I woke up and Ben wasn't there…" Another voice sleepily asked. It was no surprise to see Abigail standing there. Her hair a mess and she was half-awake, but someone she looked beautiful as ever. Glancing around the kitchen, she saw her husband, and immediately seemed to understand. She sat next to a slightly bewildered Ben and kissed him on the cheek.

"Emily do you need help with that?"

"No! I mean, no dear, I'm sure I can manage."

_-_

The next two hours the family sat around the kitchen, chatting. Because it was the _Gates _family, it was mostly about local history and the recent antiques Patrick and Emily brought. Patrick and Emily bickered about which of the antiques was the most historically significant.

"Patrick, that chair is vintage, from the Victorian-"

"Yes, but the Grandfather Clock was owned by Charles Carroll himself…"

Abigail joined in. "Are you both forgetting the Queen Anne chair?"

Ben waved his hand. "Hello? The _Boston Tea Tables_? A significant point in our nation's history-"

He was interrupted when Riley began laughing. They all turned to stare at the young man. He was laughing so hard; he was doubled over on the table. Ben couldn't help it; he cracked a grin too. Pretty soon they were all laughing.

A while after that Ben began to yawn, his eyes getting droopy.

"You tired, honey?" Abigail asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"Nah," Ben shook his head.

"Hm…" Emily scrutinized him. "I think those drugs are taking their effect on you."

"I'm not tired," Ben insisted.

"Come along, dear," his mother said cheerfully. "You need to get some sleep."

"No I don't," Ben muttered tiredly.

"Oh, stop it. Come on."

After some initial complaints from Ben, they got him into his wheelchair. After getting up the stairs and into his room, they helped him into bed. His mother tucked the sheets around him. Ben smiled sleepily at them all. "I love you guys," he mumbled before clonking off to sleep. They all grinned, knowing it was probably the drugs talking but it was nice to hear nonetheless.

Emily leaned down and kissed Ben on the forehead. "Night, night my little treasure hunter."

Riley snorted back his laughter. Patrick chuckled. "He's a forty-five year old man, Emily."

"He'll always be my little treasure hunter," Emily smiled. Abigail sat next to Ben, brushing back his hair. "Thank you everyone," she told them sincerely. "It's been so hard for him the last few weeks…not that he would admit it."

Patrick smiled at his daughter-in-law. "Ben's the most persistent man I know. But as his father, I know when he's letting pride get in his way. I made that mistake too, pushing away the people I love. Sometimes we need help, whether we want it or not."

Emily sighed. "We both made that mistake, Patrick. But now we're here for him, and that's what counts." She turned to Riley. "And thank you for being a friend to him through all of this. We couldn't ask for a better friend for him."

Riley smiled slightly, and looked at the ground, shrugging. "Well, what are friends for?"

_-_

**A few weeks later…**

Much to the surprise of the doctors and physical therapists Ben made the quickest recovery they'd ever seen. It wasn't a surprise to his family. They knew Ben, and they knew when he was determined he could overcome anything. Even though he could walk now, there was still a slight limp, almost imperceptible, but it was there. He would have it for the rest of his life, which impeded him from future treasure hunts.

But for Ben… he had come to accept it. It was time to put that self behind him, and he would protect the treasure he had right in front of him. His family and his future daughter.

It was a late afternoon, and Ben and Riley were both in the living room. Both of them didn't have much time off from the respective jobs, so it was nice to just relax for a while. Riley typed away at his laptop, deep in concentration.

Just then Abigail walked into the room. "So I just want to announce that I'm taking a nap and no one bother me. Riley, this means you."

"Why are you singling me out," Riley whined.

"Oh, come on. Don't play innocent with me. You too Ben."

Ben and Riley looked up at her with nearly identical expressions of bemusement. Abigail had to stifle a laugh. They both looked more like brothers than they knew. Both with dark brown hair and glasses and the bluest eyes she'd seen.

"What?" Ben asked after a moment of her silence.

"Oh nothing." Abigail kissed Ben on the cheek. "You're just cute is all."

"Yes, dear," Ben smirked and kissed her back.

"You guys." Riley complained.

"Oh yes," Ben chuckled. "Abby not in front of the kids!"

"Well, we'll just have to find somewhere else, now won't we?" Abigail said suggestively.

"YOU GUYS!" Riley said, now pulling his best 'ew' face.

Abigail laughed and pulled back. "Okay. Well, I'm taking a nap. Do not disturb."

"Ah yes," Riley said sagely. "Let sleeping tigers lay."

"What was that?" Abigail said dangerously.

"Nothing!" Riley squeaked.

"I thought so," Abigail said airily.

After she left the room Riley turned to Ben. "It's more like, let sleeping _pregnant _tigers lay."

Ben shook his head in amusement. Riley turned back to his laptop. Ben looked up from a book about the travels of Lewis and Clark.

"What're you doing?"

"Nothing," Riley said, squinting at the screen.

Ben sighed and turned back to his book.

"But if you _must_ know," Riley continued, "I'm writing another book. Not that you care."

Ben frowned and tilted his head. He thought they were beyond this. "Riley… I care. I'm your best friend. I know I was a jerk before… but, now I promise I'll read it when you're done."

A smile appeared on Riley's face. "Thanks Ben," he said softly. "That means a lot." Then he cleared his throat and quickly turned back to his laptop.

Ben thought about what they had been through together, and how loyal his friend was, from the very beginning of it all. Ben stared at his best friend for a long moment. Riley, sensing Ben's gaze sighed. "What?" he asked, still typing.

"Riley…" Ben began. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends." Riley answered, fingers still clacking away.

Ben took a deep breath, thinking of how to word his question. "Why… are you so… devoted to me and Abby and my parents?"

Riley stopped typing and let out a sigh, gently closing his laptop. "I'm your best friend. Isn't that enough?"

Ben shrugged. "Could be. But sometimes I think there's something else. And that confuses me. I don't think we really did anything for you."

That's when a wide genuine smile appeared on Riley's face. "But you did."

"What?" Ben asked now definitely confused.

"Well…you guys gave me a family." Riley patted his laptop.

Ben felt a lump form in his throat and he swallowed it down. Ben recalled Riley telling him that when they were lost in the woods. That he considered them his family. Ben didn't know how it happened, but he was honored to be in such a role in the young man's life.

He never really thought of Riley as lonely or anything. Riley was always friendly to everyone he met, always the one to dish out the jokes and cause laughter. No one would guess he didn't have his own family. It was sad, really. It broke Ben's heart that his friend lived a lot of his life alone.

"So…" Ben began quietly. "Is that why you do what you do?"

Riley nodded, still absently petting his laptop. "Ben… the only family I had was my grandma, but she was old… and well… you know. Maybe it would have been easier for me to become friends with other people if…" Riley trailed off. Ben noticed his hand clench on his laptop. "…if something that happened to me didn't happen. It made it really hard to trust people and let people get close, and I was scared of what would happen if they did." Riley stared absently at the ground for a moment, before finally looked up at Ben. "But then I met you and Abby… and I realized having good friends… a _family_, is something I'll _never _take for granted. I'd die for you guys." Ben didn't doubt him. A small smile quirked on Riley's face. "And that's what a family does, right? Look out for each other?"

"Yeah Riley," Ben said quietly, his heart touched by what his friend just confided in him. It seemed to Ben, that the horror they had both just been through, somehow bound them closer together. And despite whatever plagued Riley's past, the young man was still a strong individual who cared deeply for his friends.

"Besides," Riley continued. "Who would have helped you on your silly treasure hunts?"

Ben laughed and playfully cuffed Riley on the back of the head. "Someone besides my infuriating little brother." Ben reached over and ruffled Riley's hair.

Riley pretended to be insulted but couldn't hide the beaming smile on his face. "Why does everyone insist on doing that?!"

Ben smirked. "You should listen to Abigail and cut your hair more often. You look like what's his name…. from Scooby-Doo."

"Shaggy?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Riley couldn't compose himself and burst into a laughing fit. Ben grinned at him.

"Now are we watching the TV or what," Rile quipped. Ben smiled and flipped through the channels until he landed on a Civil War documentary.

"Na-uh, go back, I totally saw some Kung-Fu movie."

"My TV, my rules."

"Nooo change the channel!"

"Ow, Riley, give me the remote!"

_-_

Abigail yawned and sat up, feeling refreshed from the power nap she just took. She smiled when she felt the baby kick.

"I know," she nodded. "It's nice to finally get some rest." She wandered back into the living room to see Ben and Riley.

"Guys I-" Abigail stopped short and a wide goofy smile spread over her face. Ben and Riley were zonked out on the couch, both their heads clonked together. The remote lay idly between them and the television droned with cartoons.

Abigail found herself giggling at how comically adorable they looked. She walked over and picked up the remote, clicking off the TV. Riley snorted in his sleep and burrowed his face into Ben's shoulder. Abigail rolled her eyes, still trying not to laugh out loud.

Taking a blanket draped over a nearby chair she laid it over them both. She stood there for a moment, wanting desperately to have a camera on hand. Then she moved over to Ben and gently removed his askew glasses. Leaning down she lightly kissed him on his closed eyelids. She turned to Riley and lightly ruffled his shaggy hair.

"Sweet dreams," she whispered to her boys, and gently shut the door.

_-_

"_Riley isn't good at things that Ben is good at, and Ben isn't good at things that Riley is good at…They lack certain tack that they both fill in for each other…So without each other, they're lost… And that's the central theme of family, we need each other."_

-Justin Bartha


	19. Epilogue

**Wow, um hi guys. Yeah, I know how late I am in updating this. I'm really truly sorry. My master plan was to have this done by winter break. Well, now it's almost summer break for me lol. I just didn't want to have this hanging over my head anymore. Yesterday me and my roommate watched the first National Treasure movie again and it gave me enough motivation for the extra push to finish this off. Today is my birthday actually, lol! I decided this would be a birthday gift for myself.**

** On I side note, I went back over the story and noticed that the breaks I had put in were gone, making me looking like an idiot and messing with the flow of my story. So a big SCREW YOU to this site for doing that to my story :D **

**So this is the very last chapter of this story. I apologize for any grammatical and spelling errors or things I might have missed. Word was beginning annoying while I was finishing. A lot of fluff in the chapter after all the heavy handed-angst. Here you go!**

* * *

"Guys, come on! You ready to go?" Riley called up the stairs. Sighing he checked his glow in the dark Transformers watch. "TEN MINUTES YOU GUYS! YOU GUUUUYS!"

"Riley, shut up!" Ben called from up the stairs. Riley sighed and plopped down on the table. He didn't care for these fancy-schmancy parties, but he didn't like being late either. Soon enough, Ben and Abigail came down the stairs; Ben dressed in a tux and Abigail in a maternity dress she bought just for this occasion.

"Took you guys long enough… we're gonna be late!" Riley griped rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Think of it this way," Abigail smirked and straightened his tie. "We'll be fashionably late, and maybe a certain someone will see you there…."

"What? Who? Ohhhh…. You mean Anna." Riley said as if it were no big deal. Ben and Abigail exchanged a look, knowing their friend had taken interest in this woman. "Do you know if she's gonna be there tonight?" Riley asked hopefully.

"Riley, if you like her so much, why don't you just ask her out?" Ben rolled his eyes and helped Abigail into her coat.

"Hey, hey, I take my own time with these things," Riley said smoothly. "I have to work my magic…"

"Course you do, _sweetie_," Abigail cooed and pinched his cheek.

"Ow! That does not help my image!"

"All right, Romeo, let's go." Ben chuckled and opened the front door.

They started toward Ben's car, and Riley continued griping about his annoyances with black tie events. Abigail suddenly stopped walking, and winced. Her hand went to her pregnant belly.

"You okay, honey?" Ben asked in concern and Riley looked at her worriedly.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." Abigail smiled at him. "She kicked pretty hard just then."

"You sure you don't want to…"

"Ben, you know I've been looking forward to this for weeks! That archeologist I like is speaking…."

Ben frowned and crossed his arms. "He's not Indiana Jones."

Riley grinned. "And he's no Benjamin Franklin Gates either!"

"Oh I know _that_," Abigail said airily, lifting herself into the passenger's seat.

Riley smirked and got into the back seat. "Better watch out, man," he whispered to Ben who rolled his eyes.

-line-

Riley glanced around the partygoers, actually standing on his tiptoes to see over everyone. Ben grinned at him "Looking for someone?"

Riley rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You _know_ who I'm looking for. I don't see her in here yet."

"Well maybe stand a little more on your tiptoes."

"Shut up. Where's Abigail? I'm surprised she's not here making fun of me too."

"She went to the bathroom. Riley, you know, Anna likes you too. Just ask her out."

Riley sighed and rocked back on his heels. "Yeah. Too bad she didn't come."

"She might be late."

"Later than _us_? Come on Ben."

At that moment Abigail came up to them, barely constrained panic on her face. "My water just broke."

"What?" Ben and Riley said blankly.

"_My. Water. Just. Broke. Do I have to rephrase it any other way?_" Abigail hissed.

Ben gaped at her, for once unable to react. "B-But the baby isn't scheduled for another week…"

"Well _apparently, _this baby has other plans," Abigail said through gritted teeth. "We need to get to a hospital."

"Okay…okay." Ben took a deep breath. "Riley, take the keys to get my car, you're driving to the hospital."

"Ah, Ben, I really don't think that's a good idea, I have _really _bad luck with cars and-"

"Just do it!" Ben said slapping the keys into his head. Riley looked pale nodded and ran off through the crowd as fast as he could.

"'Scuse me! Pardon me! Pregnant lady coming through!" Ben called steering Abigail though the crowd.

"BEN, you don't have to announce it to the world!" Abigail snapped.

"Abigail, it's not like they can't tell already."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?!"

"Come on, Riley's pulling up the car!"

As if on cue, Ben's car screeched to a halt in front of them. They clambered in and were barely in their seats when Riley floored it, and peeled out of the parking lot.

"Riley, we'd like to get there _alive_!" Abigail shouted.

"Sorry, I'm kinda on edge because, you know-"

He was interrupted when Abigail let out shout, doubling over in pain. "Okay, that's definitely a contraction!"

Riley jumped,nearly swerving the car out of the lane. "The things I do..."

As Riley sped down the highway, they all simultaneously let out a groan of despair. Bumper to bumper traffic.

"Riley, get off at the next exit," Ben snapped.

As the car inched along, Abigail reverted between shouting at her husband who was trying to calm her down and shouting in pain from the contractions. Riley sent out a prayer of thanks when he finally saw the alternate route and took the car into the lane. Then he blanched.

"Uh oh…"

"UH OH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN UH-OH!?" Abigail bellowed from the back seat.

"More traffic…" Riley whined apologetically.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ben groaned. "Okay… okay let me think."

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THINKING!" Abigail screeched.

"Okay," Riley, turn left," Ben called, as Abigail practically crushed his hand.

"Left?"

"Right."

"Right?"

"No, LEFT!" Ben shouted. Riley yelped and swerved the car left, onto a rather desolate road.

Suddenly there was a tremendous _BANG_. The car swerved even harder and Riley frantically turned the wheel, until they skidded onto the side of the road. When the car came to a complete stop there was a moment of deafening silence.

"Riley, what the hell was that?" Ben asked slowly.

"Hang…on…" Riley said _very _carefully. "Let… me…check."

Riley went outside the car for a moment then poked his head back in a swallowed.

"Do you want the good news or bad-"

"JUST TELL US WHAT HAPPENED, RILEY!" Abigail shrieked.

Riley gulped. "The tire completely blew out."

"WELL THEN FIX IT!"

"Ah well, ya see, the funny story with that is, well…"

"Riley, tell me you can change a tire," Ben moaned.

"Well, I _can. _I just need some assistance."

Ben let out a deep breath. The faster this was done the better. He began to get out of the car when Abigail caught him by the arm.

"Benjamin Franklin Gates don't you dare leave me alone while I'm in _labor_!"

Ben winced and tried to calm his wife down who was now drenched in sweat and doubled over in pain. "S-Sweetie, we need fix the car and get you-"

"AHH! Ben, the baby is coming now!"

"Now?" Ben asked frantically.

"Now?" squeaked Riley from the front seat.

"Are you sure?"

"The contractions are less than three minutes apart!"

"What does that mean?"

"IT MEANS THE BABY IS COMING NOW, BEN!!"

"Oh hell no," Riley groaned.

"Riley, call 911!" Ben shouted at him.

"Oh no oh no oh no," Riley muttered to himself, then he whipped out a cell phone to call 911. He waited anxiously and then someone picked up.

"911 what's your emergency?" said a woman's voice.

"Hi, my friend is about to have a baby and our car broke down and we don't really know what to do so can you help us please?" Riley asked breathlessly.

"Sir, calm down. I need you to talk a few deep breaths and follow my instructions."

"Got it," Riley breathed as he watched Abigail nearly throttle her husband.

Riley proceeded to tell the operator their location and he hoped that an ambulance would bless them with its presence soon.

"Okay, I'm sending an ambulance over to meet you."

"Awesome!" Riley squeaked

* * *

The ambulance came thankfully, without any hindrance. They put Abigail on a stretcher and Ben and Riley both got in. Riley had to make a call for a tow truck to come and get the car, trying to speak over Ben, Abigail and the paramedics.

"Okay, Ms. Chase, just take a few deep breaths, we're just going to check-"

"RILEY, YOU'D BETTER NOT BE LOOKING!" Abigail shrieked.

"I'm not!" wailed the techie. "I'm not looking at anything!"

"KEEP IT THAT WAY!"

* * *

**At the hospital…**

Riley sat on one of the hard plastic hospital chairs, tapping his foot anxiously. As soon as they got to the hospital Ben had Abigail were whisked away and Riley had been asked to go to the waiting area. After calling Emily and Patrick, he leaned back in his chair and tried not to look like a total mental case.

He stood up and walked over to a receptionist sitting at the desk. "Excuse me can you tell me what room Abigail Gates is in?"

The receptionist looked up. "Are you family?"

"Yes, I'm just wondering because-"

"What's your name?"

"Um, Riley Poole."

The receptionist looked at him suspiciously, "How are you related?"

Riley grew irritated. _What is this, twenty questions? I just want to know where my friends are. _"Well, technically, I'm not but-"

"I'm sorry Mr. Poole, only _real _family members are allowed in there right now. Friends will be able to visit a little later."

Riley glared for a moment but turned and went back to his seat. He sank back down with a sigh. _Why didn't I just tell her I was, like, a cousin or something. I just wanted to know the room number._

He couldn't really let it get him too down though, because he was still overflowing with excitement about the new baby. Riley glanced around, trying to distract his mind. The nervous-excitement fluttering around in his stomach was accompanied by dark anxiety in his chest.

Although he was here for a celebratory reason, he still couldn't help but feel trapped. Hospitals held too many bad memories for him. He shook his head and let out a breath. _Don't think about those things now. It's in the past. It's all over. And now you're going to be an Uncle! _

The very thought made his chest ease up. He smiled a little and looked around. He the other people sitting around the waiting room were looking at him strangely. Riley was confused until he realized he was still were his tuxedo from the party. _Oh yeah. _

Sighing, he stood up, and rubbed his hands together. A thought suddenly occurred to him. _If I'm going to be an uncle I should get something for my new niece. That's what uncles do right? _He suddenly felt panicked again. He never had a niece before, not even a younger sibling, no blood family to call his own. _What if I screw this up_?

He wandered over to the gift shop, and began browsing through the overpriced "Get well soon" balloons and bouquets of flowers. _I'm technically not really family… I mean, the receptionist wouldn't even give me the information. _

He sighed and glanced out the door down the hallway. He wanted to be a good uncle. He wanted to be the best uncle in the world.

* * *

"Okay Abigail, remember… try to push between contractions," the doctor told her. He stood next to the couple, as the baby was ready to be delivered. Abigail was practically cutting off the circulation in Ben's hand, as he tried to encourage her along. It had been eight hours since they arrived at the hospital and it was now finally it was time for Abigail to push. According the doctor 'the baby wants to be born in a hurry'.

"Come on, sweetheart, you can do it! Just keep breathing!" Ben egged on his wife.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Abigail shrieked, her face drenched in sweat

After a few long agonizing minutes, Abigail gave a scream before Ben knew what was happening a small wailing infant was delivered into the arms of the doctor.

The doctor cut free the umbilical cord and cleared away the afterbirth from the infant.

"My baby," Abigail sobbed, reaching her arms out. "My little girl." The doctor gently passed the infant to her mother. Ben lay down next to her as the both smiled tearfully. Abigail cradled the crying infant, gently shushing her.

Abigail looked up at Ben, her beautiful exhausted face glowing with joy. "Here you go, brand new daddy," she whispered. Before Ben could say anything he was holding little daughter.

Ben stared in awe at the small crying baby in his arms. He had seen many amazing things in his life, but this wailing little infant he cradled in his arms was more beautiful the Templar Treasure and Cibola combined. Everything, everything he had gone through, it was all worth it for this moment. She was his and Abigail's to love and cherish forever.

"Hey, baby…" Ben soothed, rocking the screaming infant in his arms. "Don't cry…"

"Little Charlotte Elanor," Abigail whispered with a smile.

* * *

"Riley, Riley, wake up!"

Riley awoke to Emily and Patrick standing over him, huge grins on their faces.

"Hey guys!" Riley sprang up from the chair. Emily gave him a a big hug. "This is so wonderful! Just think Patrick, we're grandparents!"

"Finally," Patrick chuckled. "I was worried Ben would never settle down."

Riley smiled at them and Emily noticed something in his hand. It was a small pink stuffed animal of a bunny.

"Is that for the baby?" Emily asked with a smile.

"Oh," Riley glanced at it. "Yeah. Just a little something a picked up to welcome little Miss Gates into the world. It's not much, I'll get something better for her later."

"I'm sure she'll love it."

Patrick patted Riley on the back. "All right Uncle Riley, shall we go visit your new niece?"

"Um," Riley's eyes darted down the hallway. "You guys go ahead. I can't exactly go in yet. The receptionist said I wasn't real family."

Emily's eyebrows shot up. "Is that so?" she said, a dangerous lilt to her voice. Her eyes narrowed toward the receptionist. "Wait right here, both of you."

Before Riley could say anything Emily had walked over to the reception desk.

"Uh oh," Riley muttered.

Patrick patted Riley on the shoulder. "We're lucky she's on our side. She's quite terrifying when you're on the receiving end."

Riley couldn't hear what Emily was saying to the poor receptionist but by the way the lady paled, Riley almost felt sorry for her. The receptionist finally nodded and stammered out an apology. Emily walked back over to them a content smile on her face. "Shall we?" Riley and Patrick glanced at each other and Patrick winked. "Come on kiddo."

As they headed down the hallway, Emily turned to Riley taking him by the shoulders.

"Riley, I don't want you to listen to anyone who tells you that you are not part of this family. You're a wonderful young man, who is part of this family."

Patrick nodded in agreement. "You're always there for Ben, sticking by him no matter what. And that's more than most other people can say about their own brothers. I'm proud to call you a son."

Riley's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank guys," he said softly. "You don't know what that means to me."

Emily gently brushed his cheek. "I believe we have some idea."

* * *

They entered the hospital room to see Ben and Abigail resting on the bed, a little swaddle cradled between them.

Ben glanced up. "Mom, dad, Riley," he smiled, his eyes shining. "We'd like you to meet Charlotte Elanor Gates."

"Ah, so you went with that name," Patrick smiled, barely containing his excitement. Abigail passed the sleeping Charlotte to her grandfather who gently bounced her in his arms. "I cannot wait to spoil you rotten," he chuckled.

Emily placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Plenty of time for that."

Riley peered over Patrick's shoulder at little Charlotte. "Wow," he grinned.

"Riley why don't you hold her?" Abigail suggested.

"Yeah, Dad, let Riley hold Charlotte," Ben said.

"Er, I don't know-" Before Riley could say anything else, he had an armful of a sleeping baby Gates.

"H-Hey little lady," Riley said quietly. "Welcome to the Gates family."

Charlotte stirred, her eyes opening a fraction. "Oh no," he whispered, looking frantically at Abigail. "I woke her up!"

"Well she's not crying," Abigail said with an encouraging smile.

Riley turned back to the baby who was now staring at him with her huge glossy blue eyes. He stared back, and he wasn't sure what he saw reflected in her eyes. Maybe a little bit of eternity.

"I hope you grow up to be just like your mom and dad. They're great people," Riley said quietly, and gently stroked her palm. She grasped onto his finger and blinked up at him.

"She likes you," Ben told his best friend. Riley looked up at Ben, his eyes shining. "Really?" Ben nodded. Riley looked back down at Charlotte. "Maybe I can teach her to be hacker."

"I don't think so, Riley."

* * *

**A year later…**

"Whatcha looking at silly?" Ben cooed to his daughter. Charlotte blinked cartoonishly up at him. Ben laughed scooped her out of her crib. She made a happy chirp, her tiny hand flailing out and touching his cheek. Ben kissed her on her fluffy head. He placed her into the crip and turned to Riley. "We'll be back around ten-ish. You know the deal."

"No problem, Ben. You two have fun on that "romantic" date of yours. Where are you going a museum?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "No, we're going to see a movie."

"Is it a documentary about the American Revolution?"

"All right, wise guy. We'll see you later."

Ben headed downstairs fixing his tie. "Ready to go?" Ben asked Abigail who looked beautiful in her simple black dress and coat.

"Yes. My, don't you look handsome," Abigail commented. "Haven't seen you dress up for anything in a while."

"Only for you, my dear," Ben smirked. "Shall we?"

They were about to leave when they heard Riley shout something from Charlotte's room.

"Guys! Get up here right away!"

Ben and Abigail immediately dropped their coats and sprang up the stairs, fearing something had happened to their daughter.

When they flung open the door, Riley was standing next to Charlotte's bed, a goofy smile on his face.

"Char said her first word!"

"Ohmigosh, really?" Abigail squealed. Both proud parents began to talk at the same time.

"Was it 'mama'? I bet it was 'mama.'"

"It was 'dada', wasn't it?" Ben asked excitedly.

"Nope," Riley grinned, holding up a finger. "You're both wrong. It was 'ri-ri! Well it sounded more like 'wi-wi' but she was definitely saying my name!"

"Seriously?" Abigail asked, staring at Riley incredulously.

"Come on Riley, that doesn't count," Ben pouted. They both left the room, leaving a very bewildered Riley.

"What? Whaaat! It's what she said, I swear!"

Riley sighed and looked down at the one year old in her crib who was babbling quietly to herself.

"Well, at least _we _know it's true, huh Char?"

The Gates daughter blinked her blue eyes up at Riley.

"De," Charlotte babbled.

"What is it, Char?" Riley asked, tickling her toe. "You want to say 'dada' now?"

"Ca…wa…un…in…de…pe…das…"

Riley's brow furrowed. "What did you say? I sounded kind of like Declaration of…."

Riley's mouth fell open and he glanced down the hall, then back at Charlotte who giggled happily.

Riley smiled and picked her out of her crib, and her little hand latched onto his nose. "You know what? This'll be our little secret."

* * *

**And that's it guys! I hope it was satisfying for you guys. Wow... I can't believe it's over. I started this in (checks) June 2008. Almost two years. A lot has changed since then. This story is very close to me emotionally, and I'm proud of myself for finishing even though it took longer than it should have. I had most of it planned out since the very beginning, and it's finally all done. Sigh. **

**I would like to thank all the wonderful people who reviewed my story. The reviews helped inspire me and helped me keep going. Honestly, there is such a great community around this little fandom and I'm so grateful to be part of it with you guys. And of course, I would like to thank my wonderful friend and beta, Jaeh for helping along the way! Thanks girlie :D**

**I have a lot of other stories planned and now that it's almost summer, I'll hopefully have time to write all of them. Hopefully I'll see you guys there too :)  
It's been a wonderful experience!**

**Much love, Lori **


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